By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: A Consortium of 62 farmers’ organisations has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding that they be included in talks being held to link agriculture with the Mahatma Gandhi National rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
The Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangha (RKM) demand came in response to the NITI Aayog’s consultation with a high-powered committee of Chief Ministers on using MGNREGS funds to increase farmers’ incomes by cutting input costs.
The RKM has also threatened to launch a cross-country signature campaign to seek farmers’ opinions in 22 states.
The states include Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh, among others. Founder of the RKM, Binod Anand, said he was initially consulted by the NITI Aayog for names of farmers’ organisations.
“How can a policy on agriculture be made without consult ationof farmers ’ organisations?” he questioned.
“They have called only those members of farmers’ organisations that have affiliations with the ruling party. This attitude is really disturbing,” he said. Naresh Sirohi, vice-president of Kisan Morcha—BJP’s farmers’ wing—was the only farmers’ representative who participated in the meeting.
“I suggested engaging farm labourers during sowing and harvesting period and share the cost of labour under MGNREGS and farmer on 50-50 basis,” he said.
During the fourth meeting of Governing Council of NITI Aayog in June, Modi took a decision on policy coordination between agriculture sector and MGNREGA, particularly in pre-sowing and post-harvest activities.
Modi constituted a sub-group consisting of CMs of seven states-MP, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, UP, Gujarat, West Bengal and Sikkim—and NITI Aayog, with the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh as the convener.
