With onion prices falling day by day in the wholesale market, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday announced a subsidy of Rs 300 per quintal to farmers.
Speaking in the Legislative Assembly, Shinde said, "Not only in Maharashtra, but also in other states, as red kharif onion production is high, the onion farmers will get some relief from this subsidy."
The state had appointed a committee to study the problem and make recommendations to remedy it. The committee suggested a rate of Rs 200-300 per quintal.
However, the opposition walked out of the meeting demanding a subsidy of Rs 500 to Rs 700 per quintal to onion farmers. They raised slogans calling the government anti-farmer.
Stormy session
Right from the first day of the budget session, the opposition has targeted the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.
Shinde said, "Our government always stands by the farmers, that's why we have decided to give them a subsidy of Rs 300."
Opponents feel that this amount is not enough and will not help smallholder farmers. Although Chief Minister Shinde promised in the House that onion will be purchased with the help of NAFED, the opposition claimed that it was not happening.
When News 18 did a ground report on the issue in Nashik district, we found that NAFED has hired private companies to buy onion from farmers.
REMARK OF AGRI MIN
The opposition also criticized state agriculture minister Abdul Sattar for his insensitive remarks. Sattar had said: "Farmer suicides are not a new issue as they have been doing it for a long time." He made the remark when he was on a tour of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar district, where unseasonal rains destroyed crops.
The Long March
Meanwhile, under the banner of Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha, 10 thousand angry farmers have started a long march from Nashik to Mumbai with 17 demands. Their primary demand is Rs 2,000 per quintal for onion and Rs 600 per quintal for subsidy. A few weeks ago, in Lasalgaon Onion Market - Asia's largest onion market - prices had fallen so much that farmers were offered Rs 2-3 per kg.
In dire circumstances, farmer Krishna Dongre set his entire produce on fire after not recouping the cost invested in onion production. Farmers like Dongre feel that the government should fix the minimum support price (MSP) and provide Rs 1,000-2,000 as subsidy.
Crops have also been damaged by the recent unseasonal rains. So far, the state has ordered Panchnama, but no immediate aid has been announced.