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Like Jagdale, another farmer Marutirao Shinde farmer from Baramati who has six hectares of land and does not fit into the new bracket is also disappointed. "I have to pay of nearly Rs 4 lakh and there is no breather for me in this budget. The one-time settlement scheme for all loans, with a rebate of 25 per cent against the payment of the balance of 75 percent too is not welcome,'' he said.
Agriculture expert Dr Budhajirao Mulik calls it an eyewash and not actually drawn out to help the farmers. "The government estimates that about three crore small and marginal farmers and about one crore other farmers will benefit from the scheme and the total value of overdue loans being waived is estimated at Rs 50,000 crore while the one-time settlement is Rs 10,000 crore but this is quite contrary to the actual figures."
The FM has just been a good pleader but actually the end result will not benefit the farmers. While Dr Galande adds that even the one time settlement scheme will not help as they would have huge amount of cash to pay up. "The farmers are in huge amount of debt, where would they have the money to pay up one time settlement?'' he asks. However, director of Agri-tourism Development Department Pandurang Taware welcomes the budget for the agri-sector. "For Maharashtra the loan waiving will benefit to the tune of Rs 5000 crore and also welcomes the allocation for the investment in agriculture sector is more. The new initiatives will generate additional income for the farmers and the crop insurance too is welcome. The Rs 13,8000 crore for irrigation projects to bring 5 lakh hectares land under irrigation too is an added bonus," he adds.
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