In a scathing attack on Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, Congress MP and former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Ashok Chavan said sugarcane crops do not create the shortage of water in Marathwada region as told by the Minister.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha Chavan said sugarcane crops are mostly under cooperatives and it is wrong to say the present water-crisis in the region has been due to this, he added.
Chavan also raised the issues of farmers of the Marathwad region and urged the agriculture ministry to forgo their loans. The farmers have been facing droughts for the past 3 years. You would give them Rs one lakh when they die; why not now so that they can survive, he said emphatically.
Chavan also raised the issue of Manrega and said that out of eight districts of Marathwada only about 50 thousand people are enrolled in the scheme. In reality, each district has a population of 50 thousand ready to be enrolled. The norms of enrollment are so tough that the concerned officials are scared of enrolling them; there is a need to encourage the local bureaucracy to get over their fear, he underlined.