Date:21/09/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/09/21/stories/2004092108970400.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Go the West Bengal way on free power: Jayati Ghosh

By Our Special Correspondent

The Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, greeting Jayati Ghosh, Chairperson of the Commission on Farmers' Welfare, in Hyderabad on Monday. The Planning Commission member, Abhijit Sen, the Agricultural Minister, N. Raghuveera Reddy, and the agricul tural scientist, M.S. Swaminathan, and the Chief Secretary, Mohan Kanda, are also seen.

HYDERABAD, SEPT. 20. Jayati Ghosh, Chairperson of the newly- constituted Commission on Farmers Welfare, on Monday said the State Government's offer of free power supply was "not good economics" but "it needed to be seen in the context of it being a short-term measure.''

Different slabs

In an interaction with mediapersons after the inaugural meeting of the Commission, Prof. Ghosh of the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University, said she personally favoured different slabs for extending free power supply to ensure that small farmers get the benefit and replication of the model followed in West Bengal.

Replying to questions, she said Andhra Pradesh was used as a laboratory for liberalisation policies and reforms in the recent past.

The Commission headed by her would study all aspects of the agrarian crisis that pushed farmers to commit suicide. These include the credit policy, the impact on tenants, the substantial variation in input costs and output prices and land reforms. Though Andhra Pradesh registered the highest number of suicides, farmers in other States faced similar problems and there was need for looking at national policy too.

Study of land reforms

Comparing the farm policies in Andhra Pradesh with those of West Bengal, she said the extension system here had collapsed. In West Bengal, there were genuine land reforms and lands were registered on tenants' names enabling them to avail credit facility from banks.

The Commission here would also study land reforms in the State.

Interim report

She said the small farmers were left out in the committee system now in vogue, for watershed and water users. They all needed to be brought into the Panchayat Raj system, decentralising the administration. "We will have to rebuild the cooperative credit system and if necessary bring about policy changes."

The time of two months fixed by the State Government for submission of report was a "short one" and the Commission would be able to give its interim report only.

Commission members would be visiting Anantapur tomorrow and Warangal later.