Farm leader and former MP Raju Shetti. (File Photo) The Maharashtra government’s decision to allow wine sale in supermarkets and walk-in stores has nothing to do with farmers’ welfare but is driven by economic interests, the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana has alleged.
“The Maha Vikas Aghadi government has taken a decision to promote wine production and its distribution through supermarkets and shops. It purely is from a business angle. Why are they dragging poor farmers into wine marketing? How does the farmer stand to gain from the wine bottle finding its way to the supermarket shelf?” Raju Shetti, president of the farmers organisation, told the Indian Express on Sunday.
Shetti said neither the government nor the Opposition BJP was concerned about farmers’ welfare. The government says the decision will bring higher remuneration to farmers as wine is made from fruits, cereals and foodgrains.
Shetti also said his organisation would launch statewide protests against the government for reducing land-acquisition compensation from five times of the market value to two times. “The state government has reduced the market rates for land acquired for state and nation highway projects by 20 per cent… In a village in Kavathe-Mahankal, a farmer whose land was acquired for a project was entitled to compensation of Rs32 lakh. But he received just Rs10.03 lakh,” he said.
He said the farmer was at the receiving end of the policies aimed at cutting government expenditure. “He is not getting higher compensation for his land. Nor can he refuse to part with the land,” said the farmers leader.
Citing the amendments to the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, Shetti also accused the Centre of failing to protect farmers’ right to fair compensation. “It was the Shiv Sena that was at the forefront opposing changes to the act in 2015. But today they are pushing anti-farmers laws in Maharashtra,” he said.
Shetti also questioned the state government’s decision to pay sugarcane farmers in three instalments. “How can a small or marginal farmer manage his household without the full payment? Sugar mills want to hold back the payment for one full year,” he said.
Almost 78 per cent of the 1.56 crore farmers in the state come under the small and marginal category, Shetti said, claiming the government had done nothing to address the woes of the farmers who incur huge losses because of recurring natural calamities.
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