Bhubaneswar: A day after the Biju Janata Dal (BJD)-led government announced compensation for sharecroppers for crop losses suffered due to pest attack, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today lashed out at the government and dubbed the announcement as a ‘purported plan to mislead farmers.’
Sharecroppers have been demanding amendment of the existing Odisha Land Reforms Act. However, their fate still hangs in balance as the government is turning a blind eye to their woes and is yet to come up with a definitive law for them, alleged BJP.
"How can the government give loans to the sharecroppers who have no land documents? Is it possible to give loan to a farmer who owns no land?” questioned senior BJP leader Biswabhusan Harichandan, adding, “I don’t know about any law under which a loan can be sanctioned without mortgage.”
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The State government’s compensation package is nothing more than adding insult to injury of sharecroppers. The government must accept farmers’ suicide and its failure in preventing them and announce Rs 10 lakh ex-gratia to the families of the deceased farmers, said Harichandan.
Meanwhile, a central team of BJP headed by party MP Om Prakash Jaiswal visited Bargarh district today to assess the situation following reports of pest attack on crops in the region. The team will submit its report to the party's national president Amit Shah.
Similarly, a team headed by Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat along with top agriculture experts will visit Bargarh and other affected areas in the State on November 12. The team will also hold discussions with the State government over remedial measures to prevent pest attack.