Despite claims, govt allotted Rs 4,000 crore less to agriculture this year

Mumbai: The Bharatiya Janata Party led state government tried to project its state budget 2017 as an “agricultural budget”. In reality, however, the government has allotted almost Rs 4,000 crore less to agriculture and related departments than in the previous year.

In the backdrop of a strong demand for loan waiver for farmers and talk of agricultural crisis in the state, the BJP government projected the state budget presented by finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar recently as a “budget for the farmers”. The budget read, “The government is committed to increase the investment in agriculture and initiate a number of steps to provide for more irrigation, power, rural communication, processing and monitoring facilities, technology and credit.” However, it turns out that the government has actually reduced the expenditure on agriculture and related departments. The budget of 2016-17 allotted a total of Rs 21,105 crore to agriculture and related departments but in 2015-16, it had set aside Rs 25,000 crore for the same.

In a possible bid to gloss over the reduced allotment, the state increased funds for a few departments, which was seen as an investment in agricultural infrastructure. For instance, the government allotted Rs 7,000 crore last year for the irrigation department but this year, it allotted Rs 8,233 crore for the same. But the overall allocation of funds to agriculture was cut down this year.

Opposition leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil termed the government’s move as “jugglery”.