Vol. 7, Issue : 12
December 2015
Distress of Peasants – Apathy of Government
Even as India celebrates the golden jubilee of
the Green Revolution, the NSSO has come out
with data indicating that 70 per cent of the peasants
are in distress due to prolonged drought, steep
rise in the input prices, withdrawal of supportive
measures by the government like public
procurement and marketing facilities.
The Green Revolution, which undoubtedly
ended the country’s ship-to-mouth existence, has
also led to lopsided growth of agriculture
characterized by the excessive dependence on
chemical fertilizers, intensive water supply, neglect
of large agricultural areas at the expense few
irrigated pockets. This situation is compounded
by the advent of new economic policies which
withdrew earlier support to agriculture like
institutional credit, subsidies on inputs, withdrawal
of public procurement, privatization of agricultural
market yards and so on. These policies are
undoubtedly designed to throw the peasants out
of their lands and hand over them to corporate/
contract farming through economic levers.
The distress of peasants is particularly intense
since 18 out of 29 states faced drought for the
second year in a row. This is only the fourth
occasion of a back-to-back drought in over 100
years – the last one being in 1986 and 1987.
This year’s story of failed monsoon has
extended beyond Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh
and Telangana. The well irrigated states of Punjab,
Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and
coastal Odisha are feeling the effects of a poor
monsoon.
As a result of two consecutive years of drought,
peasants and their families in Bundelkand region
are moving towards famine conditions. 36 per cent
of villages reported at least one hunger death; 86
per cent households cut down their pulses and
milk consumption; 67 per cent of households are
not getting two square meals a day; 24 per cent of
household sent their children to labour. 97 per cent
of peasants reported a rise in their debt and 87
per cent are unable to repay. The government
claimed of creation of 150 man days under
MNREGA, but a survey revealed the average was 2
less than 10 days. The state government failed to
take some immediate relief measures like fodder
sheds, repair of tube wells, supply of power to
agriculture and supply of essential commodities
through public distribution system.
The specter of drought has hit Uttar Pradesh
for the second year in 50 districts out of the total
75. They received 60 per cent or less rainfall. Last
year the state government suspended the revenue
collection until March 2016. This year it is yet to
initiate the relief measures.
In Odisha, previously death due to poor
monsoon was a rare phenomenon. This year
around 90 peasants have committed suicide in
the past three months. Lack of institutional credit,
usurious money lending practice and scanty
rainfall damaged the lives of the peasants.
The north western parts of the country, which
comprises Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, had
received least amount of rainfall. In Punjab cotton
growers suffered huge losses as 40 per cent of
their standing crop was damaged by the white fly.
Organ of the Central Committee of CPI(ML)