It is pre-poll bonanza time in Rajasthan, slated to go to elections by the end this year. From farmers to small businessmen to wannabe entrepreneurs, every section of voters is expected to be showered what seems like a gift.
In a bid to kill two birds with one stone, the state will get its first mega food park at Roopangarh village of Ajmer district soon. Union minister for food processing industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal is slated to inaugurate the park, targetted to benefit about 25,000 farmers in and around Ajmer. With the Ajmer Sharief Dargah there, the benefit may reach the minority community members living in the area.
The government hopes that the park, being set up at a cost of Rs 113.57 crore under the "Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana", will contribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's commitment to double farmers' income by 2020.
Only last month, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, in the course of the budget, announced a one-time loan waiver of upto Rs 50,000 for small and marginal farmers, costing the exchequer Rs 8,000 crore. To implement it, she also announced setting up of a Farmer Loan Relief Commission.
Other concessions announced a few months before the elections include free travel in state run buses for super-senior citizens over 80 years along with a companion who needs to pay half the fare.
The Congress, which has been winning all the by-elections in the state, did not protest over this appeasing of voters ahead of elections. On the contrary, the opposition party upped the ante and pressed for a full waiver to all farmers.
In the last few weeks, the chief minister has spoken on recruitments of 63,000 teachers and score-based free scooters to students.
Announcement of freebies and schemes to woo voters would earlier be heard just in time to beat the model code of conduct setting in. But with the BJP's ascendancy and competitive politics where states emulate the practice of the winning party in other state elections, such announcements are made almost for a whole year ahead of the polls.
The mega food parks will have modern infrastructure facilities for food processing along the value chain from farm to market with strong forward and backward linkages.
According to the government, it would lead to a turnover of about Rs 450-500 crore annually, and provide direct and indirect employment to 5,000 people. Besides farmers, growers, processors and consumers of Rajasthan and adjoining areas will benefit from this.