Jharkhand CM Hemant seeks  Spl package for state from PM Modi

CM rues non-payment of mining royalty from PSUs

Ranchi, August 7: Chief minister Hemant Soren requested Prime Minister Narenda Modi for special package for Jharkhand in view of the drought like situation and lack of irrigation facility.

Speaking at the governing body of NITI Aayog in New Delhi on Sunday, Hemant Soren firstly the state has to deal with the challenge of Covid-19 for the last two years. Now due to less rainfall and lack of irrigation facilities, the state is heading towards drought. The state has to bear the brunt of drought every three to four years.

“So far this year too, there has been 50 percent less rainfall than normal and less than 20 percent of the land has been planted with paddy. I urge the central government to approve a special package for the state of Jharkhand, so that drought can be dealt with,” said Soren.

The Chief Minister said that out of 38 lakh farmers till 2019, only 13 lakh farmers were able to get Kisan Credit Card (KCC). In the last 2 years, due to the tireless efforts of the government, 5 lakh new farmers have got the benefit of KCC, but still more than 10 lakh applications are pending in various banks. The state government urges the NITI Aayog to give necessary instructions to all the banks for the approval of KCC.

“Till now no special action plan has been worked in the direction of diversifying the crops in Jharkhand. The reason is the focus of farmers on subsistence farming. We have taken paddy procurement from 4 to 8 lakh tonnes in 2 years but still special cooperation of central government and FCI is needed to move ahead in this area,” added Soren.

The Chief Minister said that there is acute shortage of irrigation facilities in the state and irrigation facility is available only on 20 percent of the land. In the state, 5 lakh hectares of Kharif land comes under the category of upland, on which crops can be diversified provided irrigation facilities can be made available.

“There is immense potential for the production of pulses and oilseeds in the state. A special package should be approved to increase irrigation facilities through minor irrigation projects in the state of Jharkhand. Birsa Harit Gram Yojana has been implemented for the expansion in the field of horticulture. With the implementation of this scheme, while the poor farmer families of the state are being given a permanent livelihood opportunity, better management and utilization of the fallow land in a large area is being ensured. Under this scheme, mango and mixed horticulture has been done successfully in about 60,000 acres of non-agriculture land so far. In this financial year, initial activities of horticulture are being done in 25,000 acres. Due to this, farmers are getting an additional income of Rs 25,000/- to 30,000/- per acre per year on an average,” said Soren.

The Chief Minister further informed the PM that all the companies that tried to set up mining and industries have exploited the water, forest and land here. No attempt has been made by any mining company to reclaim the land by mining. There has never been a proper effort to solve the problem of displaced people.

“I feel that a state like Jharkhand should get the maximum share of the income from the mining of mineral wealth, but the policy changes that have taken place in the last few years have proved to be just the opposite. For example, Jharkhand has suffered a lot due to the implementation of GST, but efforts have not been made to compensate for it properly,” the CM added.