After First-of-its-kind Agri-Budget, Yeddy Offers More Sops to Farmers

From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore

Bangalore, Mar 9: Still basking in the glory of unveiling the first-of-its-kind separate Agriculture Budget along with the general budget for the year 2011-12 in the entire country, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yedddyurappa has utilised the opportunity of replying to the debate on the budget proposals in the State Assembly on Wednesday to present more sops to woo the farmers and farm sector.

Prominent among the fresh sops announced by Yeddyurappa, who is also in charge of the finance portfolio, during the course of his reply is the announcement regarding the State Government’s offer to bear the entire interest burden on loans obtained by children of farmers pursuing higher education which will come into effect well before the start of the ensuing Common Entrance Test (CET) for admissions to professional courses. A sum of Rs 20 crore will be provided for the purpose, he said.

The Chief Minister, who resorted to the unusual ploy of presenting his entire reply printed and circulate it among all members and media covering the legislature proceedings, has many other promises/proposals/financial allocations for the benefit of the farm sector.

Farmers buying agricultural implements like tractor, tillers, threshers, sowing machines etc will be provided with 50 % subsidy subject to a maximum of Rs 50,000 with the total outlay on the scheme fixed at Rs 100 crore while short-term cooperative farm loans upto Rs 3 lakh will be provided at the lowest 1 % rate of interest, crop loans above Rs 3 lakh will be provided with subsidised loans as per the norms set for agricultural loans granted by cooperative bodies and continuation of the 3 % rate of interest on all medium and long term crop loans while extending the same benefit even to weavers and fishermen.

The other sops/concessions/financial allocations announced by the Chief Minister in his reply are: Rs 100 crore for meeting drinking water supply and sinking of borewells including Rs 25 crore for the same purpose in Bangalore city; grant of a special annual fund of Rs 1 crore to all Zilla Panchayat Presidents for taking up special development schemes in their respective districts; Rs 10 crore for providing necessary equipments/materials for the newly built mini vidhana soudha buildings in different districts; Rs 5 crore fro the construction of the Mummadi Krishna Rajendra Wodeyar Auditorium in Maharaja College, Mysore; Rs 5 crore for construction of Sri Kalabhairaveshwara Swamy Sanskrit, Veda and Agama College building at Sri Adichunchanagiri Kshethra; Rs 5 crore for development of Sri Renuka Yellamma Temple; Rs 5 crore for development of ruling BJP’s pet project of Datta Peetha at Bababudangiri Hills in Chikmagalur district and Rs 2 crore each for the development of Madhwacharya temple in Udupi district and Sri Digambar Jain Pilgrim Centre at Venur in Dakshina Kannada district.

Yeddyurappa, who had the privilege of presenting six annual budgets in a row since he became Deputy Chief Minister cum Finance Minister in the H D Kumaraswamy-led JD(S)-BJP coalition regime in 2005-06, made special mention of the media reaction in the State and national dailies as also from other experts over his unique attempt to focus attention on the problems of the farmers by presenting his unprecedented Agri-Budget as a ``bold and welcome step.”

"I accept all the appreciations made in the larger interests of the State and its economic development as encouragement while taking all the criticism as necessary guidance to take the State forward,” he said reiterating his commitment to work for Karnataka’s progress and development.

The State’s financial position, Yeddyurappa, said was very buoyant and the Government will meet the plan expenditure target of Rs 31000 crore for the current financial year ending March 31.

Of a total budgetary support of Rs 27,098 crore for the plan expenditure, the Government had spent Rs 19,196 crore until February.  Normally, the expenditure incurred in the first eleven months of a financial year ranges between 65 and 75 % and it is 71% this year.

The State Government is also contemplating to purchase coal blocks to ensure an ininterrupted supply of coal to the proposed thermal plants at Yedlapur, Yarmarus and Bellary (third unit) since the Centre is yet to allocate coal linkages to these plants. “To take the (new) power projects forward, it’s possible to find coal blocks outside,’’ Yeddyurappa said.

The State government is exploring the possibility of importing coal and partnering in joint ventures to invest in equity in coal mines of other States as well as other countries so as to ensure availability of power needed for the State.

The Chief Minister said the State Government will step up the auction of its lands, particularly in and around Bangalore in the ensuing financial year. It will set up a business park at Devanahalli in the vicinity of the Bengaluru International Airport and the plots therein will be sold for a high rate.

Interestingly the Government had expected to raise around Rs 3000 crore from the sale of its lands but ultimately ended up with only Rs 100 crore from the land sale. “The low real estate prices had prompted the Government to delay the sale and now that the prices are ruling high, auction of Government lands will be stepped up,” he said.

On mobilisation of tax resources, Yeddyurappa said by the end of the financial year the State Government will mobilise Rs 1500 crore more than the target set for 2010-11. Of a target of Rs 36,228 crore by end February the Government had already mobilised Rs 33,624 crore (Rs 20,534 crore-commercial taxes, Rs 6806 crore—Excise, Rs 2130 crore—Motor Vehicles tax and Rs 3175 crore—Stamps and Registrations).

The Rs 1500 crore in excess of the target is expected from Commercial Taxes (Rs 500 crore), Excise Rs 600 crore, Motor Vehicles Tax (Rs 200 crore) and forest Tax (Rs 200 crore).

Stating that the State’s fiscal position had improved significantly in the past one year, he said the GSDP (gross state domestic product) was expected to grow by 8.2 % in 2010-11, up from 5.2 % in the previous fiscal. Pointing out that the BJP Government headed by him would be completing three years on May 30 this year, the Chief Minister declared that a two-year blueprint would be prepared in consultation with the opposition parties to speed up development.

However, the Congress Opposition leader Siddaramaiah termed the separate agriculture budget as a “political gimmick.” The departments of agriculture, horticulture, energy, energy, irrigation, animal husbandry and fisheries have been tucked into Part I and presented as “Agriculture Budget.’’

“How can you call it agriculture budget?,” he asked and dismissed the Chief Minister’s reply to the budget discussion as “most disappointing” and led the Congress members in a walk-out in protest. Expressing similar sentiments, JDS also later staged a walkout.

The House gave its approval to the Vote on Account to incur expenditure up to July 31, 2011, as per the budget estimates.