Cutting the ground from under farmers

Not only there are attempts to deny fair compensation to farmers when their lands are acquired, but also there are savage cuts in the Union budget for agriculture

Magicians resort to all sorts of tricks and entertain their audience. They call it “misdirection” – distract the attention of people in front of them away from tricks they perform. Abracadabra! Now the powers-that-be, too have started, of course awkwardly, trying their hand at the magic to do sleight of hand tricks.

Against this background, a stocktaking of what the leaders at the helm of affairs achieved or failed at the end of each year of their survival in office is not unusual. When it comes to Naredra Modi’s government at the Centre and his partner-in-politics N Chandrababu Naidu’s government in Andhra Pradesh, they have been adopting identical policies.

The most immediate action on the part of the governments both at the Centre and in Andhra Pradesh is the Land Acquisition Bill to deprive the farmers of their land and depriving them of their livelihood. Not only there are attempts to deny fair compensation to farmers when their lands are acquired, but also there are savage cuts in the Union budget for agriculture.

For instance, the Accelerated irrigation Benefit Schemes has been savagely pruned. The budgetary allocation for the schemes came down to Rs 1,000 crore in 2015-2016 budget from Rs 4,630 crore the previous budget when the UPA was in power. When it comes to Andhra Pradesh, the Naidu government is inflicting fatal blows on farmers.

Despite the sane advice by eminent persons like K C Sivaramkrishnana, who headed the commission to recommend the location of capital for Andhra Pradesh post bifurcation, Naidu is rushing about a like bull in a china shop. Destroying vast stretches of multi-crop fertile lands between Vijayawada and Guntur in the name of building a world-class capital city may be judged harshly by future generation for endangering food security.

Instead of taking advantage of the 10 year period during which the government can operate from Hyderabad and find a solution to the problems being faced by the people, he has been going on foreign jaunts. His commission of getting master plans for capital city designed in Singapore, as if India is bereft of good architects, reminds one of the idiom that the “grass is greener on the other side.”

While there is nothing particular to analyse the Andhra Pradesh budget, the Modi government’s first budget has shown that it surpassed its predecessor in handing out doles to “hungry” corporates. It could be the first time in recent history that huge budget write-offs in customs duty on gold, diamonds and jewellery amounting to a little below Rs 76 crore was given and budget for agriculture had fallen by not less than Rs 5,000 crore. Following in the footsteps of the UPA government, the Modi government too gave relief to corporates.

As if this is not enough, Modi and Naidu are hand in hand racing ahead with an insatiable hunger to snatch fertile lands to help realtors and corporates. As Prof Jayati Gosh said the giveaways on gold, diamonds and jewellery was twice the amount allotted for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNRES). Replicating such a huge success as garnered by the scheme now seems to be a far cry with the Union government cutting budgetary allocation it.

What is most unfortunate in the entire scenario is the cracks in steel frame. It refers to failure on the part of even senior IAS officers bowing their heads in a servile manner to those in power. There were in the past many IAS officers who did not hesitate to make verbal sallies against the Ministers and even the Chief Minister.

For instance, Major A V S Reddy, when he was the District Collector and Executive Magistrate in Krishna district during early 1980s, did not hesitate to cross swords with the then Minister for Social Welfare in the presence of the then Chief Minister at a review meeting. He told the Minister bluntly that he would not allow acquisition of fertile lands either for the purpose of industries or housing.

Lok Satta Jayaprakash Narayan, too, when he was the District Magistrate in Prakasam and East Godavari districts, told the then Chief Minister N T Rama Rao that he would not issue orders for detention of some Congressmen under Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA). There are several such instances in the past. Can we expect to see the light at the end of the tunnel now?

By K Sriramulu