Bureaucrats Shed Crocodile Tears in Vidarbha

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Bureaucrats Shed Crocodile Tears in Vidarbha
The recent interview given by Shri Sudhir Kumar Goyal, Divisional Commissioner, Incharge Relief, Amravati, Maharashtra, shows that politicians are pressing the bureaucrats into action for fire fighting in Vidarbha.Shri Goyal has tried to shed a few tears, for suicidal cotton farmers, of Vidarbha, and rattled off figures of how much interest waivure, has been provided to the farmers on their loans. He says no government in the world can subsidize 60% farmers. He however, is pointedly silent on why these loans were advanced to farmers in the first place if cultivating cotton in Vidarbha is such a risky proposition. Did the ministers, government departments and senior responsible officers,not know that cultivating resource intensive cotton in Vidarbha is a risky proposition ?I wish to point out some of the cotton export figures of India for the period January 2006 - September 2006 to show how Shri Goyal is trying to deflect attention from governmental dishonesty.US Imports from India : Rise in percentage from previous year in same period -1. Textiles and Apparel : 16.75% rise2. Yarns : 136.96% rise3. Fabrics : 27.36% rise4. MadeUps : 8.53% rise5. Apparel : 11.32% rise6. Cotton Yarn : 209.66%7. Cotton Fabrics : 22.11% rise8. Blue Denim : 351% rise9. Knit Fabrics : 150% rise10. Cotton Hosiery : 358% rise11. Cotton Bed Linen : 25.15% rise12. Terry Towels : 47% rise13. Cotton Apparel : 17.30% riseCategory Jan/Sep 2005 Jan/Sep 2006 %change % share in World Total for Jan/Sep 2006World 300 364.656 336.993 -7.59 100.00301 452.106 480.383 6.25 100.00Total 816.762 817.376 0.08 100.00India 300 5.301 8.828 66.53 2.62301 15.628 62.520 300.06 13.01Total 20.929 71.348 240.90 8.73China 300 1.703 8.926 424.16 2.65301 16.703 5.164 -69.08 1.07Total 18.406 14.090 -23.45 1.72Pakistan 300 157.856 166.951 5.76 49.54301 131.361 145.280 10.60 30.24Total 289.217 312.231 7.96 38.20300 – Carded cotton yarn; 301 -- Combed cotton yarnConversion factor: 8.5 SME = 1 Kg.The TEXPROCIL informs us "It is remarkable that Indian imports have grown from 5.301 MSME to 8.828 MSME. This performance is all the more commendable because in a falling market, India has shown a growth and that too when in the corresponding period of the previous year, the performance was meagre..""..The growth in case of India for Combed cotton yarn (Category 301) is tremendous rising from 15.628 MSME to 62.520 MSME. Looked at differently, the growth in imports of this product from all sources has been to the extent of 28.277 MSME of which the maximum has been on account of imports from India alone. Compared to this, imports from China have declined by 69%.."Does Shri Goyal think that Indian cotton farmers are so foolish, as to accept his prescriptions regarding the reasons for their suicides ? How can he even think of insulting the cotton farmers of Vidarbha like this, in the face of the strong surge in Indian cotton exports ? Maybe with such intellectually dishonest bureaucrats, to look after them, the Vidarbha cotton farmers are better off having no hope rather than listen to such patently absurd agricultural prescriptions.Incredible India. The only country where bureaucrats in the garb of Relief Commissioners have the job of giving sugar coated pills to farmers, instead of bitter medicine.If Indian cotton exports, are doing so well in US markets, even against suppliers like China and Pakistan, why are the cotton growers of Vidarbha only only facing the prospects of suicides and sugar coated pills from senior bureaucrats shedding crocodile tears ?Check out the cotton export figures for yourself and ask Shri Goyal what new story he wants to tell Vidarbha farmers ? - http://www.texprocil.com/monthly/usaqty_sep06.docShri Goyal claims that the cotton farmer has become a bonded labourer on his own farm who cannot afford to even pay wages. The real answer he does not provide is whose bonded labourer is the Vidarbha cotton farmer ? Who is benefitting from the bondage of the Vidarbha farmer ?But then maybe, Shri Goyal is after all, fire fighting on somebody else's behalf, and is just trying to concoct excuses and stories for his political masters. After all, everyone has to earn a living.