View of AIKS on Union Budget 2022-23
Budget Reflects Narendra Modi led BJP Government’s Vengeance on Farmers’ Protest
Anti-Poor, Anti-Farmer Budget; Insensitive to Genuine Demands of Farmers
Allocations Cut for Procurement, Food, Fertiliser and MGNREGA
1st February, 2022
The Union Budget 2022-23 by the BJP Government totally ignores the genuine demands of the farmers and seems like an act of revenge on the successful united farmers’ movement. No relief for farmers and agricultural labour has been announced. Farmers’ demands for assured procurement at remunerative prices and loan waiver have met with callous indifference. Total allocation was Rs.474750.47 crores in 2021-22 (Revised Estimates) which has now fallen to Rs.370303 crores that is over a lakh crore. The share of rural development in the Budget has also fallen from 5.59 percent to 5.23 percent. It has seen a cut in allocations for procurement, MGNREGA, crop insurance, food and fertiliser subsidy.
The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has sought to create hype that 2.37 lakh crore is set aside for procurement of paddy and wheat in 2022-23. In fact this is lesser than the allocation of 2.48 lakh crore made last year and the beneficiaries will also be drastically reduced from to 1.63 crores only while beneficiaries last year were 1.97 crore; an exclusion of 34 lakh farmers while we have been demanding expansion to all crops and widening of the reach. The allocation for procurement to the FCI and under decentralised procurement Scheme has actually been reduced by a whopping 28 percent. Reduction in allocation and inflation will altogether result in a significant decline in procurement in 2022-23. Allocation of funds for fertiliser subsidy has been reduced by 25 percent. Coming as it does when already fertiliser prices are shooting up, this is going to have adverse impact on productivity.
The allocation for Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana which was Rs.16,000 crores in the last Budget has been reduced to Rs.15,500 crores. The allocation for PM-KISAN is 9 percent lesser than what was originally announced at its inception in 2019. The earlier claim that 14 crore farmer households would benefit has been scaled down to 12.5 crore households. However, while Rs.6000 each would require Rs.75000 crores, only Rs.68,000 crores has been allotted. Allocation for crop husbandry has been cut by Rs.26,000 crores (18%); allocation for food storage & warehousing by Rs.84,000 crores (28%). The Economic Survey had pointed out that the average monthly income per agricultural household is only Rs.10,218/-.However, the average income from cultivation per person in a day is merely Rs.27/-. Rather than double farmers’ incomes the 7 years of Narendra Modi led BJP Government has shrunk.
In times of pandemic when employment opportunities have shrunk, the allocation for MGNREGA has been actually cut. While the Revised Estimates of 2021-22 was Rs.98, 000 crores, this Budget has only allocated Rs.73,000 crores. A recent study had estimated that for ensuring 100 days/household under MGNREGA would require about Rs.2.64 lakh crore including for clearing arrears of around Rs.21,000 crores. Clearly, the poor agricultural labourers are not a priority for the BJP Government.
The Union Budget will only widen inequalities, increase poverty, unemployment and hunger. AIKS calls upon all its units to unite with the broadest possible sections and rise up in protest against the insensitive Narendra Modi led BJP Government.
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Ashok Dhawale
President
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Hannan Mollah
General Secretary
