Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh on Thursday described the Union Budget 2018-19 as ‘disappointing’ for the State as it has failed to announce any measures to address the farmers’ distress.
“Not only did the Budget not contain any announcement on farm loan waiver, it also failed to implement the Swaminathan Committee report in toto, making it clear that the Central government did not recognise the distress of the State’s farmers,” said Capt. Amarinder.
Reacting cautiously to the proposed hike in MSP to fix it at 1.5 times the expenditure, Capt. Amarinder said while the details would need to be examined, on the face of it, the Centre should have implemented the Swaminathan Committee report in full.
If the Centre is serious about the issue, it should implement the report of Niti Ayog member Ramesh Chand on the issue, he added.
“The Centre had also failed to help Punjab in its crop diversification efforts through setting up of the National Horticulture University. No major outlay for research and development in the agriculture sector had been announced, even though the Economic Survey had recognised the climate change and its impact on agriculture as a major issue,” he said.
Khattar hails it
However, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has hailed the Budget, terming it to be reflective of the pro-poor and pro-farmer policies of the NDA government. He said it would give a decisive push to economic growth and job creation.
