Cut in budget allocation on Food, Fertilisers & MGNREGA  : HKS

Himachal Kisan Sabha (HKS) said here today that Union Budget 2022-23 by the BJP totally ignores the genuine demand of of farmers as budget allocations cut down on procurement, food fertilizer and MGNREGA.
President Dr Kuldeep Singh Tanwar and General Secretary of HKS Dr Onkar Shad said that reduction in the allocation compared to previous years seems like an act of revenge on the successful united farmers’ movement. 
” No relief for farmers and agricultural labor has been announced. Farmers’ demands for assured procurement  at remunerative prices and loan waiver have met with callous indifference.” They alleged.
The Union Budget will only widen inequalities, increase poverty, unemployment and hunger, Dr Shad stated
It is worthwhile to mention that in the budget presented in the parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman 
said that total allocation was Rs.474750.47 crores in 2021-22 (Revised Estimates) which has now fallen to Rs.370303 crores that  is over a lakh crore. 
The share of rural development in the Budget has also fallen from 5.59 percent to 5.23 percent. It has seen a cut in allocations for procurement, MGNREGA, crop insurance, food and fertilizer subsidy. 
” Finance minister has tried create hype that by announcing Rs 2.37 lakh crore on procurement of paddy  in 2022-23, however it is  is lesser than  allocation of 2.48  lakh crore made last year and the beneficiaries would also be  drastically reduced from to 1.63 crores only while beneficiaries last year were 1.97 crore; ”Kissan Sabha alleged

Dr Tanwar said that this  would cause  exclusion of 34 lakh farmers while we have been demanding expansion to all crops and widening of the reach. 
The allocation for procurement  to the FCI and under decentralized procurement Scheme has actually been reduced by a whopping  28 percent.  Reduction in allocation and inflation would altogether result in a significant decline in procurement in 2022-23. 
HKS also said that allocation of funds for fertilizer subsidy has been reduced by 25 percent. Coming as it does when fertilizer prices are shooting up, this is going to have an adverse impact on productivity.
The allocation for Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana which was Rs.16,000 crores in the last Budget has been reduced to Rs.15,500 crores. 
The allocation for PM-KISAN is nine percent lesser than what was originally announced at its inception in 2019. The earlier claim that 14 crore farmer households would benefit has been scaled down to 12.5 crore households. However, while Rs.6000  each would require Rs.75000 crores, only Rs.68,000 crores has been allotted. 
Allocation for crop  husbandry has been cut by Rs.26,000 crores (18 per cent ); allocation for food storage & warehousing by Rs.84,000 crores (28 pc ). 
The Economic Survey had pointed out that the average monthly income  per agricultural household is only Rs.10,218/-.However, the average income from cultivation per   person in a day is merely Rs.27/-. Rather than double farmers’ incomes the seven years of Narendra  Modi led BJP Government has shrunk. 
In times of pandemic when employment opportunities have shrunk, the allocation for MGNREGA  has been actually cut. While the Revised Estimates of 2021-22 was Rs.98, 000 crores, this Budget  has only allocated Rs.73,000 crores. 
A recent study had estimated that for ensuring 100  days per household under MGNREGA would require about Rs.2.64 lakh crore including for clearing arrears of around Rs.21,000 crores. Clearly, the poor agricultural laborer’s are not a priority for the  BJP Government, Dr Tanwar said.