CHENNAI: The State government on Monday strongly objected to the changes in the fertilizer subsidy policy brought in by the UPA government, calling it “ill-conceived” and urged for a revisit of the policy to make it farmer-friendly.The State government had done its share by exempting fertilizers from VAT, thus reducing the burden. The UPA, in an attempt to reduce the subsidy bill of fertilizers, introduced the Nutrient Based Subsidy scheme in 2010 and decontrolled prices of all fertilizers, except urea, which spiked the costs.The Finance Minister, while slating the total allocation for agriculture sector at `3804.96 crore, said the State was hopeful of achieving production of 105 lakh tonnes of food grains despite cyclonic storms in 2011-2012. The target for 2012-2013 has been fixed at 120 lakh tonnes.He said an Agri-Market Intelligence and Business Promotion Centre would be established in Tiruchy to disseminate crop and market advisory services. While setting a target of 1,73,000 acres for coverage under micro irrigation, the minister said a new system of disbursing subsidy directly to farmers would be brought in. The budget also augmented allocation to improving warehousing and marketing facilities by `300 crore under the NABARD-RIDF loan. The System of Pulses Intensification will be implemented in 1.6 lakh acres based on the ‘Whole Village’ concept.
Comments
0 comment