Complete loan waiver no solution to agrarian crisis: Sharad Pawar

Like, for example, in assured water supply region of Kolhapur that grows sugarcane, a loan waiver should not be given but in the parched Yavatmal district, where farmers are in trouble due to loan burden and crop failure, it can be given.”

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Pawar was interacting with the media after touring the suicide-prone Yavatmal district on Wednesday. His observation is in contrast with its alliance partner Congress’ demand for a complete loan waiver.

Pawar said he would discuss the farmers’ problems with the state and central governments and try to find a solution “without politicising it”.

He even taunted Narendra Modi, saying, “I will meet the Prime Minister whenever he is available in the country.”

“I observed that Yavatmal suffers from short supply of water and while the condition of cotton seemed a little under average, soyabean crop has been affected badly. The three reasons I noticed for a crisis are crop failure, loan burden and lack of water. I will discuss the issue with the chief minister,” he said.

“In Yavatmal, I noticed that the suicide number goes up in the months of August, September and October. This is perhaps because of the exigency of repeated sowing or poor harvest prospects due to scanty or heavy rains.”

Pawar said the more he tried to grapple with the issue, the more he was flummoxed. “New issues crop up every time there are situations like these, so I think we need to delve deeper to be able to understand it in all its nuances,” he said.

He called for a rethink on deciding the eligibility norms for compensation to the families of those committing suicide.

“Now, if someone from a farmer’s family ends life, the farmer doesn’t get compensation because the land is not in the name of the deceased person. I think there is a need to revise this norm as only 50 per cent of the families get compensation under the present norms,” he said.

Citing the example of psychological counselling programmes conducted under his chief ministership for the victims of the Latur earthquake, Pawar suggested a similar programme could be tried for farmers too.

He reiterated that farmers or their children need to be given alternative employments to take the pressure off land.

“I have been criticised on this but I am of the view that farming has become unviable due to land under agriculture shrinking and the number of people dependent on it growing.”

To a question about NCP leaders like Chagan Bhujbal, Sunil Tatkare and Ajit Pawar being probed by the ACB, Pawar said, “Anybody can see the grandeur of Maharashtra Sadan that Bhujbal built in Delhi. It is the best such building there. But instead of praising it, some people are finding faults with it. What is happening today with Maharashtra has never happened in the past.”