Days ahead of the announcement of dates for assembly elections in five states, the Union government has come to the rescue of farmers across the country and announced a slew of measures for poll-bound Madhya Pradesh.
The Centre gave in to the demands of the protesting farmers as it approved a hike in minimum support price (MSP) for rabi crop, including wheat and pulses. The hike would mean an additional expenditure of over Rs 62,000 crore.
The Union cabinet approved three projects, including setting up of metro rail projects in Bhopal and Indore, for poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, where three-time Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is engaged in a fierce battle with the Congress. In the state capital, the metro will be 27.87km long. This will be build under a 50-50 partnership between the Centre and state government at an expense of Rs 6,941.40 crore. In Indore, 31.55km long metro rail connectivity will be established at an expense of Rs 7,500.80 crore. Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said these two projects will take four years to complete.
Prasad has also announced the approval of a revival plan for NEPA mill, which manufactures newsprint, in Madhya Pradesh, at a cost of Rs 469.41 crore. With these decisions, the BJP hopes to send a message to the electorate.
However, the big cabinet decision, which will have impact across the country, is the increase in the MSP of the rabi crop. The MSP of wheat has been raised by Rs 105 per quintal, safflower by Rs 845 per quintal, barley by Rs 30, masur dal by Rs 225, gram by Rs 220, and rapeseed and mustard oilseeds by Rs 22 per quintal. The increase in support price has come after thousands of farmers from Uttar Pradesh marched towards Delhi on Gandhi Jayanti. As the situation threatened to spiral out of control, the government hurried to concede to their demands and the cabinet announced the increase in the MSP on Wednesday.
The government said the hike is set over 50 per cent of the production cost of the crop. This translates into 112.5 per cent hike for wheat, 67.4 per cent for barley, 75.2 per cent for gram, 76.7 per cent for masur dal, 89.9 per cent for rapeseed and mustard, and 50.1 per cent for safflower.
Railways
To improve and redevelop the railway stations, the government has decided to set up a separate dedicated body under the railway ministry. To be called Indian Railways Stations Development Corporation, the agency, as the name suggests, will specifically be devoted to the upkeep and development of stations. “It is a very progressive decision,” the minister said.
