Revise allocations in Budget, farmers demand

Ongole: The farmers and farmworkers under the leadership of Samyukt Kisan Morcha and All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee staged a protest in front of the BSNL office in Ongole on Thursday and demanded the Union government to revise the allocations in the budget introduced in the parliament recently.

The Prakasam district convener for SKM Chunduri Rangarao, AP Rythu Sangham state general secretary KVV Prasad, district general secretary Vadde Hanumareddy, AP Vyavasaya Karmika Sangham district general secretary Pamidi Venkatarao, Acharya Ranga Kisan Samstha general secretary Chunchu Seshaiah, and others spoke at the protest. They said the Union government did injustice to the poor by reducing the allocations for MGNREGS, agriculture, and irrigation projects in the state, in the budget 2023-24. They alleged that the government is being corporate-friendly and has opened gates for the sale of public sector units like Vizag Steel Plant etc.,

They explained that the government allocated only 3.20 per cent of the Rs 45.30 lakh budget for agriculture, and reduced allocations for food subsidy by 31.28 per cent compared to 2019-20, 22.25 per cent on fertilizers when compared to 2022-23. They said that the government reduced Rs 1,49,327 crore on food subsidy, fertilisers, and petroleum subsidy, and reduced Rs 8469 crore on agriculture compared with 2022-23. They calculated the allocations for the MGNREGS are gradually being decreased from 2020-21, to the tune of Rs 1.20 lakh crore compared with the ratio of the increase in the budget estimates.

They condemned reduction in the allocations under heads that are directly affecting the farmers and farm workers, who are about 60 per cent of the population of the country and called it grave injustice to the public by the government. They demanded the Union government to immediately revise the budget allocations and increase the subsidies on food, petroleum and fertilizers to Rs 5.50 lakh crore, expand the MGNREGS to urban poor also by increasing the allocations to Rs 1.86 lakh crore, and introduce an act to give legal support to the minimum support price and make allocations for it.