Mr.
Speaker, Sir, it is with very great pleasure that I welcome the proposals which
the Honourable Minister announced while presenting the Demands for Grants for
the Ministry of Agriculture. In recent times, there has been a general feeling
that the farmers in our country do not receive as much encouragement as they
deserve at the hands of the Government. I am quite sure that the announcements
made by the Honourable Minister will bring a ray of hope in the minds of the
farmers all over the country.
I hope that the Government is very
well aware of the fact that the need for increasing the agricultural production
is greater at the present moment than at any other time in120 the past. Of course,
I do agree that we are in a very comfortable position as far as the food140
(1) front is concerned. We have
enough stocks of food grains at present time and we are also hopeful of160
a bumper harvest in some parts of the country. Our Public Distribution System
is functioning very satisfactorily and /
the poor people are able to get their requirements of essential commodities
at low prices. But at the same time, we cannot afford to overlook the fact that
the balance of payment position is not favourable so far as we are concerned.
Of course, we have been able to manage a very difficult situation, which we had
to face in recent months. 240 But there is no doubt that there has to
be a further improvement in the position as early as possible. We will be able
to achieve this only by increasing our exports. Keeping this in view, the
Government is280 already taking steps to encourage
exports. From the policy statements being made (2) from time to time, both on the floor of the House and outside,
I think that the various controls and constraints on exports are likely to320
be removed as soon as possible.
I am quite sure that these measures will go a long way
in boosting our exports. But there is one important aspect which we have to
take into consideration. If we look at the composition of our360
exports, we may find that agricultural commodities formed a major part of our
exports even in recent years. Now, if we decide to adopt a more liberal policy
in the matter of exports, we can only expect a further increase in the
quantities of food grains and other agricultural products exported to other
countries. This position may continue so420 long as the Government policy and the
global market conditions are favourable to the exporters. In this context, we
have also to (3) consider a
situation, where, in a particular year, the outflow of food grains by way of
exports may go up to such an extent as to result in scarcities within the
country. I think that such a situation480 may lead to consequences, which may not be to our liking. First of all, the
prices in the open market may go up. Secondly, the Government may have to incur
heavy expenditure in the form of subsidies for the purpose of maintaining the Public Distribution System.
Therefore, there is every necessity for our agricultural production to keep
pace with the possible increase in our exports.
Sir, I wish to make only one suggestion in this
regard, in addition to the560 suggestions made by my honourable
friends on this side of the House. In spite of all our efforts over the past
several years, we still see vast tracts of land lying waste. From this, we can
easily come to the conclusion600 that our (4) farmers just do not have the capital to reclaim those lands and
bring them under cultivation. I know for certain that there are some big
business houses who are interested in making investments in farming as part640
of their diversification programmes.
They may be in a position to make it a profitable venture because they have the
required capital and also their own export houses. Perhaps, they may expect some
concessions like tax incentives from the Government. Even now, in the field of
industries, we are extending such concessions, to export oriented units.
Therefore, I request the700 Government to devise a suitable policy
so as to attract private investment in export-oriented farming. If this is
done, large720
areas of waste land can be brought under cultivation. At the same time, our
exports of farm products will go up without any loss to the domestic
requirements.
Mr. Speaker, Sir, I thank you for this opportunity to
participate in the general (5)
discussion on the Budget. The Honourable Minister was advocating much for the
welfare of farmers. He is very serious in handling the position to find out
ways and means and see that the farmers are not put to800 any hardship. But,
unfortunately due to the financial crisis, I am afraid whether he would be able
to implement some of the welfare measures meant for the farmers. Sir, many
State Governments have already stated that they are not in840 a position to
implement the dual policy as enunciated by the Finance Minister. They are
saying that it is very difficult to implement it. There is every possibility of
misuse of fertilizer and also the funds meant for it may not be used properly.
Therefore, the Government should find out some ways and means to solve this
problem as soon as possible. The Government of India has decided to increase
the price of fertilizer. The sowing season has started and (6) if the fertilizer is not available, the entire farming
community would become upset. It would have been better if the subsidies were
removed carefully and gradually. But the sudden removal of the subsidy for the
fertilizer has caused a960 lot of problem to the farmers.
Procurement of food grains should be done throughout
the country and the money should be980 provided from the Central Government to
all the societies to procure most of the food grains or the oilseeds which they
grow in their fields. There should be proper godowns to keep the produce. If
there are no proper godowns, the entire commodity which we are going to procure
is going to be a waste. Then, regarding remunerative prices, the Honourable
Minister was kind enough to mention on the floor of the House that while giving
remunerative price for the crops, he will take into consideration manual1080
labour, investment on land, managerial cost, cost of inputs, market trend and (7) transport, etc. Therefore, I would
request the Government that all these things should be taken into consideration
while fixing the remunerative prices.
Sir, the next point I would like to speak about is
rural development and Panchayat Raj. This is a1120 revolutionary Bill
which has been brought over and it has been discussed at length. It provides
for 30 per cent reservation for women. I would like to submit that it is our
duty to see that this Bill is passed
as early as possible. Regarding drinking water, we should provide it to every
village of our country. There are villages which do not have adequate water.1200
Simply saying that we have provided drinking water is not enough. Inadequate
water also means that there is no water. Since the population is growing by
leaps and bounds, we should try to provide drinking water throughout the
country.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the Budget
proposals. At the outset, (8) I
would like to congratulate the Finance Minister on the effort he has made to
get greater income with the least1260 difficulty for the common man. Many
points have been raised in the course of the debate and I would not1280
like to repeat them. However, first of all, I would like to point out the
higher allocation made for the plan in the Budget. In spite of the scarcity of
resources, I am very happy that the
Finance Minister has raised the allocation to some extent. We are aware that
the reduction of unemployment, the removal of poverty, etc., will depend on how
well we are implementing our plans. It is
clear that so far, we have not had any signs of reduction in unemployment.
However, but for our plans, we would not have made great progress. We may not
be able to judge the progress of the country (9) with statistics alone. Visits to various
places in different parts of1400 the country and a closer look at the
people will alone be able to make us understand the progress made.
First of all, I would like to point out that the Government has tried to meet, as far as
possible,
1440 the important needs of our people as well as the economy.
On the one hand, the Government feel that the Public Distribution System should
be maintained at all costs. On the other hand, they feel, at the same time,
that production of goods should be increased. I will now come to the question
of inflation and the state of economy which have been discussed here. There is
no doubt that inflation is the biggest problem that we are facing at present.
The Finance Minister has already dealt with these matters.
Sir, with these words, I thank you for the
opportunity. 1540 (10)
