– Lokendra Singh
Agriculture and its allied businesses are the pivot of Madhya Pradesh’s economy and development. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his government understand this very well. Ever since Chief Minister Chouhan has been in charge of the state, he has continuously made efforts for the betterment of the farmers. Both the Modi government at the Center and the Shivraj government in the state have kept the farmers in their priority. By organizing the ‘Kisan-Kalyan Mahakumbh’ organized in Rajgarh, Madhya Pradesh, the government has tried to give the same message that it will always be in the forefront in worrying about the interests of the farmers. In Mahakumbh, the Shivraj government gave relief to the farmers by waiving the interest of Rs. 2200 crore agricultural loan, releasing an amount of about Rs. 1400 crore under the Chief Minister Kisan Kalyan Yojana and transferring the payment of claims of Rs. 2900 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. work done.
Due to the promise of debt waiver by the previous Congress government, the interest burden on the farmers of the state had increased due to which they became defaulters, they were not able to get the benefit of the government’s agricultural relations scheme. The Shivraj government has given great relief to the farmers by taking them out of this vortex. It may be remembered that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had announced that “Thousands of farmers became defaulters in the hope of loan waiver in the year 2018 during the previous Congress government and were deprived of getting fertilizers and seeds. The state government has understood the plight of such farmers with crop loans up to Rs 2 lakh and has decided to waive the interest.
Fulfilling his announcement and the promise made with the farmers, last month Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had started the ‘Chief Minister Farmer Interest Waiver Scheme’ by filling the applications of Panchmalal and Jugendra Jhallu, two farmers of Sagar’s Primary Cooperative Credit Society, Kerbana, for which Under this, the process of filling applications for waiving the interest of defaulter farmers with crop loans up to Rs 2 lakh was started in about 4,500 primary agricultural credit societies of the state affiliated to District Cooperative Central Banks.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been stressing that conditions like loan waiver or interest waiver should not arise in Madhya Pradesh. Schemes like loan waiver are also not in favor of the self-respect of the farmers. The farmer nourishes the country and the state with his efforts. The expectation of the farmers of the state has been that the government should make such policies that they get fertilizers, seeds and agricultural equipment at reasonable prices. Get a loan from the bank at a reasonable rate for agricultural work. Most importantly, he should get the right price for his produce. It is not an exaggeration to say that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, from his first term, emphasized on the same thing that what initiative should be taken to increase the self-respect of the farmer and make him self-reliant?
To understand easily and rationally how the government is working in the interest of farmers in Madhya Pradesh, we should look back almost 20 years. If we go back about 20 years from today, then we will be able to know why the state was going through a period of plight? At that time there was neither electricity nor irrigation facilities for agriculture in the state. There was a big difference in production and cost. Fertilizer and seeds were also not available to the farmer for the fields. Farmers could get loans at about 16 percent interest rate. After taking the loan, the farmer was burdened with the burden of his interest. Shivraj government first changed this system, today farmers of the state get agriculture loan at zero interest rate. Kisan Credit Card has brought a revolutionary change in providing credit to farmers.
Due to the efforts of the Shivraj government, the area under irrigation has also increased in the past years. In the year 2003, there was only around seven lakh hectares of irrigated land in the state. With the efforts of the Shivraj government, it is now more than 45 lakh hectares. There is a target to take it up to 65 lakh hectares by 2025. Due to the expanding network of canals, irrigation potential of 65 lakh hectare will be seen in Madhya Pradesh in the coming years. The ‘Mohanpura-Kundalia Pressurized Pipe Irrigation System’ launched in ‘Kisan-Kalyan Mahakumbh’ should be seen under this resolution of the government. This is the country’s first major pressurized pies irrigation project costing about 8500 crores. Apart from this, the process of construction of 12 Narmada alluvial projects costing more than Rs 24 thousand 500 crore with irrigation potential of more than 5 lakh 50 thousand hectare has started in the state. According to the statistics of the state government, the irrigation potential of more than 28 lakh hectares is being developed through 475 irrigation projects under construction by the Water Resources Department. In addition to all these efforts, the Madhya Pradesh government under the leadership of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has made continuous commendable efforts in the interest of the farmers. Despite this, it has to be said that still a lot of work remains to be done to improve the condition of the farmers. The encouraging thing is that the government is also making efforts in this direction.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan says that “the aim of my life is to bring prosperity and happiness in the lives of food donors by removing their difficulties”. This thought of the Chief Minister very well expresses his feelings towards the farmers. It is this goal that inspired Shivraj Singh Chouhan to formulate a policy for the welfare of the farmers ever since he became the Chief Minister. He is the first Chief Minister, who gave the idea of doubling the income of the farmers and also started the initiative to make policy proposals on it. After the formation of the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Center in the year 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also taken this effort forward.
The image of being a ‘farmer’s son’ is the specialty of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. This image of him is not political or fabricated but is real. He has a deep connection with the village and agriculture. He was born in a simple farmer’s family in a small village Jait. He has spent part of his life in the fields. That’s why it is said in relation to him that he understands the pain and difficulties of farming very well. Due to this image, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is most popular and reliable among the farmers. He has earned this popularity and trust by taking decisions in the interest of the farmers.
(The author is a freelance commentator.)
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