RJD MLA Sudhakar Singh and CM Nitish Kumar
– Photo: Social Media
Expansion
RJD MLA and former Agriculture Minister Sudhakar Singh has once again attacked Nitish Kumar fiercely. Sudhakar Singh has also challenged Nitish Kumar to contest elections from anywhere by showing the figures of development in Bihar in the field of agriculture. While writing an open letter to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Sudhakar Singh has also asked many questions.
Tell that Sudhakar Singh, describing himself as an MLA with zero knowledge, wrote a letter to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and said that Dear Mr. Nitish Kumar, I came to know about the statements given by you yesterday on the questions being raised by me on the issue of farmers. The head of the state government has an obligation to maintain at least a basic level of integrity and devotion to duty towards the people of the state. Earlier it was suspected that you lack it, but now after listening to the fabricated things said by you, it seems that there is no existence of duty, loyalty and honesty in your political life. If someone asks a logical question on a policy issue, then you have only one tired answer that the person asking the question does not know anything. Well, what is our status in front of a great scholar like you! Since on every question and every issue, you keep following the same tone that a lot of work has been done, so I am mentioning some things related to Bihar’s agriculture and farming along with the figures released by your government.
The reality of the income of the farmers of Bihar…
In the second and third agricultural road map, the target was set to increase the income of the farmers of Bihar. Has the income of the farmers increased? According to a report tabled in Parliament by a parliamentary committee on 24 March 2022, Meghalaya’s farmers earn the most. The farmers here earn an average of Rs 29,348 per month. Whereas, the farmers of Punjab earn Rs 26,701 per month. But the average monthly income of Bihar’s farmer families is among the lowest among 27 states in the country and each farmer family in Bihar earns an average of Rs 7,542 per month. That is, the income of the farmers of Bihar is one fourth of the average income of the farmers of Punjab.
The truth of buying paddy through packs…
Bihar government procures paddy through packs. Paddy is harvested in the month of October but PACS procures paddy in December. Farmers’ paddy is bought by packs for less than the support price. Despite this, after the Bihar government sets a target for paddy procurement and reduces the ratio, PACS purchases paddy from farmers only up to a certain limit.
Due to limited paddy purchase by packs and delay in payment of paddy purchased from farmers, farmers are forced to sell their paddy to middlemen at Rs 700-800 per quintal less than the support price. The average selling price of paddy in Punjab is Rs 2300 per quintal. Whereas, the average selling price of paddy in Bihar is Rs 1600 per quintal. The difference in this selling rate is not only visible in paddy, but also in different crops.
Development of agriculture sector in Bihar…
The contribution of agriculture in the GDP of Bihar state is about 18-19 percent. But the growth rate of agriculture itself has decreased continuously. This growth rate was 5.4 per cent between 2005-2010, 3.7 per cent between 2010-14 and is now between 1-2 per cent. If we see according to the real growth rate, then this growth rate is negative. Because the crops which are harvested by scientific method, the progress in those crops is negative.
Agriculture road map ka Dhindora…
In the year 2012 when the second agricultural road map was implemented, the total food grain production in Bihar was 177.8 lakh tonnes, while in 2022 it is 176.02 lakh tonnes, which is one lakh tonnes less after ten years. By spending about three lakh crore rupees in the agricultural road map, was it only beneficial that the production of food grains in Bihar decreased by one lakh tonnes?
The reality of compensation being received in land acquisition…
Farmers’ land is being bought by the government for many projects in Bihar, but the government is not giving proper compensation to the farmers. When the farmers of Buxar demanded compensation, in the dark of night the families of the farmers were lathi-charged through the police. The land of the farmers of Buxar is being taken by the government in 2022 at the rate of 2013-14. The government has fixed the circle rate of agricultural land at Rs 3,20,000 (Rupees three lakh twenty thousand) per acre in the Bharat Mala project in Kaimur. At the same time, the circle rate of agricultural land in the state of Uttar Pradesh bordering Bihar is Rs 12,80,000 (Rupees Twelve Lakh Eighty Thousand) per acre.
I know that there is nothing to do with your information, statistics and ground reality. Lately, you have developed a new hobby of being careless. It may not have much effect on personal health, but it is not right to remain careless for public interest. That’s why leave this hobby as soon as possible. And yes, I agree with you that the public is the master. Choose any area of your choice in the upcoming elections, the public will also confirm by example that the people of Bihar have lost faith in you and the public is really the master. In the upcoming budget session, I will once again present a private bill for the Agricultural Market Act in Bihar. This time coming from next door be ready for debate.
