‘It is dependent on penalties, service charges'
The Tobacco Board has become heavily dependent on penalties and service charges for its functioning as the Central government has stopped giving it financial support while propping up other commodity boards. The Spices, Coffee, Tea and Rubber Boards are receiving substantial amounts from the Centre but the Tobacco Board has not received a single pie in the last few years, according to Andhra Pradesh Virginia Tobacco Growers' Association honorary president and former Rajya Sabha member Yalamanchili Sivaji.
In a pre-budget consultation held in New Delhi last week, Mr. Sivaji said the Tobacco Board had turned into a ‘punitive body' as it was collecting huge penalties on excess production, which amounted to more than Rs. 225 crore since 1999-2000. Charges on auctioning tobacco added up to Rs. 330 crore during the same period.
The Tobacco Board has collected Rs. 36.76 crore as penalties in Andhra Pradesh in 2010-11. It was the highest amount garnered since 1991-92.
Service charges amounted to Rs. 32.84 crore in 2010-11 as against Rs. 40.43 crore in the previous year (2009-10). These were the only sources of income for Tobacco Board in the absence of enough budgetary support from the Centre.
Mr. Sivaji requested Union Minister for Commerce Anand Sharma to treat the Tobacco Board on par with the other boards to help it play a developmental role. Another thing that needed urgent attention is the assurance given by the Prime Minister in 2007 that the amount collected as penalties would be utilised for welfare of the growers. It remained an assurance as precious little had been done on that front.
Mr. Sivaji also said the cyclones of December 2011 and January 11, 2012 damaged tobacco crop in 12,000 acres in Prakasam and Nellore districts.
