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The Common Minimum Programme (CMP) of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government in Maharashtra will be agriculture and rural economy-centric.
The CMP will be approved by this weekend by top leaders of the three parties, including Sharad Pawar, the architect of the alliance, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray.
A source, who is aware of the contents of the draft, told BusinessLine that the major promise is going to be a complete farm loan waiver. “Maharashtra farmers are in huge debt crisis. The drought and the floods that followed have worsened the situation. The debt waiver will be complete and will help each and every farmer of the State,” the leader said. The new government will also reorganise the crop insurance scheme.
Another big promise will be a 50 per cent increase in the minimum support price of all crops. “Our government will try to implement, step by step, the MS Swaminathan formula of MSP, which will be at least 50 per cent more than the weighted average cost of production,” the leader added.
He said the CMP also has measures to address the rural distress. “Increasing the purchasing capacity of rural households is a major challenge before us, particularly at a time of economic slowdown,” the leader said, and claimed that loan waivers and increased MSP will improve the rural economy in the State.
Rural unemployment
Another major announcement that is likely to come up is a scheme for addressing rural unemployment. The leader said previous Congress-NCP Governments have played a very effective role in addressing the scenario by introducing job guarantee schemes much before to the national scheme, the MGNREGA. “We know how to address this issue. We have had measures in the past which helped the farmers and agriculture workers and even the educated youth in villages. The new scheme will be a model for the entire country,” the leader claimed.
He added that the new Government will also make efforts to address the woes of the manufacturing and services sectors too. “The leaders will finalise the proposals to ease the problems of industries. Addressing rural economy will eventually help the major industries,” the leader claimed.
Pawar is scheduled to meet Sonia Gandhi here on Saturday. Addressing reporters in Nagpur, Pawar said the three parties want to form a stable government which will be development-oriented. “There is no possibility of mid-term polls. This government will be formed and it will complete five years. We all will ensure this government runs for five years,”
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