Issues, including possibility of providing agricultural bonus to tenant farmers, ensuring safety on unmanned level railway crossings thereby reducing accidents, small boat owners suffering due to cruise by big companies in Ganga in Varanasi and opening up a border post in Gujarat with Pakistan to provide access to markets there for agricultural produce figured in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.
Tamil Nadu parties- AIADMK and DMK staged a walkout on the Cauvery issues while the Left parties did the same to protest against violence in Kerala following a row over entry of women in Sabarimala shrine. However, the House functioned smoothly with Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu making a witty remark that members have every right to “walk out, talk out but not break out.”
Earlier, the House witnessed banter when some members complimented Naidu for his attire. The Chair in turn said leader of House Arun Jaitley, Derek O’Brien (TMC) and T Subirami Reddy (Congress) always come to then House well dressed. The entire House had a good laugh.
Later, during the Question Hour appreciating the concerns raised by several MPs over the plight of farmers, Naidu asked the Government to study the possibility of ensuring that bonus if announced on rice or wheat procurement reaches even the sub-tenant farmers.
The issue was raised Chhaya Verma (Congress) who said tenant farmers are not getting bonus and sought to know if the Centre will put in place some mechanism to protect such farmers. Minister of State for Food CR Chaudhary said, there is no provision (to transfer bonus to bank accounts of) for sub-tenant farmers. If two-three tenant farmers together register one bank account, then payment is distributed proportionately, he said.
Expressing concern over the issue, Naidu asked Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan to take action in this regard. “This is a practical and sensitive issue. You please study on this. You know what happens in villages,” Naidu said. Paswan agreed and said, “I will meet you in this regard.”
Fielding questions about safety on unmanned railway crossings after some MPs expressed concern over accidents, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said almost such crossings have been eliminated.
As a result, the number of accidents has come down to three in the last nine months from 50 a year ago, he informed the House.
Giving figures, he said the railways has eliminated 3,451 unmanned railway level crossings up to December 2018. In the next few weeks, the Railways will be free from these crossings on broad gauge track, Goyal added. With regard to compensation, the Minister said that wherever there is responsibility of Railways, the compensation is provided to the families of the deceased. Trespassers are not given compensation
Highlighting the plight of small boat owners, Vishambar Prasad Nishad (SP) said the introduction of cruise owned by some big companies on Ganga in Varanasi had hit the livelihood of the small owners. He urged the Government to take immediate steps to address this issue.
Madhusudan Mistry (Congress) urged the central government to open a border post with Pakistan in Gujarat to enable the farmers there to export their produce to that country. At present, they have to transport produce like tomatoes to Wagah border in Punjab for this purpose thereby causing losses, he said.
On direct benefit transfer (DBT) of fertilizer subsidy to farmers, a committee to look into this issue has been set up by NITI Aayog and its report is awaited, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Rao Inderjit Singh said. The idea is to provide subsidy to farmers directly.