B.A. Ramesh Hegde, secretary of the Shivamogga District Congress Committee, has urged MP and national vice-president of the Bharatiya Janata Party B.S. Yeddyurappa to raise the problems being faced by arecanut growers and bagair hukum farmers in Malnad region in the Parliament and prevail upon the Union government to initiate appropriate measures to resolve them.
While campaigning for Lok Sabha elections, Mr. Yeddyurappa had claimed that, if elected, he would raise these issued in Parliament. It was unfortunate that Mr. Yeddyurappa had failed to keep his promise, Mr. Hegde said at a press conference here on Tuesday.
The price of arecanut had come down to Rs. 300 a kg this from Rs. 800 a kg last year. The import of low quality arecanut was responsible for the crash in the prices. With the objective of curbing the import of arecanut, the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre had increased its minimum import price from Rs. 130 a kg to Rs. 170 a kg. However, the order had not been enforced. It was essential to impose a total ban on the import of arecanut to protect the interests of local growers. Mr. Yeddyurappa should put pressure on the Union government to bring in a law to ban the import of arecanut, he said.
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He urged the Union government to implement the recommendations of Gorakh Singh committee on providing financial assistance to arecanut growers, who were in financial distress owing to the yellow leaf and fruit rot diseases. Mr. Hegde expressed displeasure over the alleged slowness in conferring ownership rights for bagair hukum farmers on the land they had been cultivating under the Forest Rights Act in Malnad region. The Act specifies that it was mandatory for farmers not belonging to Scheduled Tribes to furnish records to show their domicile in the forest region for three generations or for the past 75 years while applying for ownership rights. Prior to the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP leaders, including Mr. Yeddyurappa, had raised a hue and cry over this issue by stating that the rigid conditions laid down in the Act were responsible for the slow pace of its implementation. As Mr. Yeddyurappa is now an MP, he should initiate a debate on the issue in Parliament and put pressure on the Union government to suitably amend the Act, he said.
Member of Shivamogga City Corporation P.V. Vishwanath, functionaries of the Congress Shamsundar, C.G. Madhusudan, Chethan and Girish were present.