Absence of a concrete policy
04/07/2022
Hundreds of crores of rupees have been spent on these much-needed efforts during this period but, shamefully, the problem has only exacerbated. Though Rs 274 crore was spent on the crop diversification scheme — which has for long been touted by experts as an antidote to the water-guzzling paddy — the area under paddy cultivation has alarmingly increased by over 7 per cent. Similarly, the expenditure of Rs 699 crore on improving the soil quality and water availability seems to have gone down the drain. In an indictment of successive Punjab governments and their departments responsible for ensuring sustainable agriculture in the state, the CAG report tabled in the Vidhan Sabha points to irregularities in the use of funds earmarked during 2014-19 for the implementation of guidelines to conserve soil and water.
The ground situation continues to deteriorate. Recently, the agriculture department found itself red-faced as it came to the fore that the 8,000 quintals of dhaincha seeds supplied to farmers were of poor quality. These seeds are sown after wheat is harvested and serve as green manure to restore fertility of the soil. The department was earlier in the dock when in 2019,What is worse is that nobody has been held accountable for the sharp groundwater depletion or soil degradation and the apparent misuse of funds. While the governments have been resorting to competitive vote-catching measures, the agriculture department unjustly lays the blame on the absence of a concrete policy. The lack of political will to confront the problem is best reflected by the fact that the authorities have been sitting on a draft submitted by experts nine years ago rather than studying it and formulating an appropriate agriculture policy to reap benefits. A scam was also recently highlighted that had snowballed into a Rs 1,178-crore fraud over a three-year period.
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