Dismissing as non-visionary and anti-farmer, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday described the Union Budget 2018-19 as “disappointing” for the state. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has failed to address most of the issues raised by Punjab at the pre-budget meeting and also failed to announce any measures to address the farmers’ distress, he said.
Not only did the budget not contain any announcement on farm loan waiver, it also failed to implement the Swaminathan Committee report in toto, making it clear that the Central Government did not recognize the agrarian distress of the state’s farmers, said Capt Amarinder in his initial budget reaction.
Punjab, which has implemented loan waiver for the beleaguered farmers despite severe financial constraints, had been expected something on it in the budget, he said, adding that the Central Government should have taken some initiative in this regard.
“The Central Government has miserably failed to share its responsibility in the budget towards the farmers, who have provided food security to the nation,” he said.
Reacting cautiously to the proposed hike in MSP to fix it at 1.5 times the expenditure, Capt Amarinder said that while the details would need to be examined, on the face of it, the Centre should have implemented the Swaminathan Committee report in full.
“If the Central Government is serious about the issue, it should implement the report of Niti Ayog member Ramesh Chand on the issue,” he said.
He said that the Centre had also failed to help Punjab in its crop diversification efforts through setting up of National Horticulture University. “No major outlay for research and development in the agriculture sector had been announced, even though the Economic Survey had recognized the climate change and its impact on agriculture as a major issue,” he said.