Letters to the editor dated January 15, 2020

This has reference to ‘Agriculture needs holistic solutions’ (January 14). A few points need to be focussed on for boosting agriculture growth. Farmers must be advised to switch over from traditional water-guzzling crops to less water-consuming crops such as pulses. They must be encouraged to adopt organic farming, reduce dependency on chemical fertilisers, and go in for crop swapping every alternate year. They must also be encouraged to go in for drip and sprinkler irrigation systems. States, on their part, must build enough cold storage facilities to store the agricultural produce to be marketed later.

When public sector banks and other co-operative banks do lend liberally to the farm sector, which includes for subsidiary activities such as poultry, dairy, fishery and farm mechanisation, the farmers too have make a paradigm shift in their cultivation processes and tune themselves to the compulsive changes required on their part.

Chennai

This refers to media reports that the owners of vehicles with toll exemption can apply online for FASTag cards. In fact, by ushering in the concept of ‘toll tax’, the government has quite tactfully absolved itself of its onerous responsibilities of properly maintaining the national highways across the country. As is well-known, various private players, as mandated by the NHAI, keep regularly hiking the toll charges by taking shelter behind some convenient alibis like rising operational costs, etc. The NHAI has failed to rein in such profiteering. Some in-built mechanism should be put in place to keep a tab thereon.

While the current list of 35 ‘exemptees’ ought to be suitably pruned, local leaders/politicians should in no case be allowed to pass through these toll bridges without paying the requisite toll fee.

New Delhi

In an interview, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said that in recent times car sales have grown while two-wheeler sales have not. This, he said, shows that the upper middle-class and the rich are doing well, while the lower middle-class and poor (who buy two-wheelers) are not.

Another way of looking at the trend is that more people are able to afford cars, meaning more people have risen to the upper middle-class and rich categories. This is something we ought to welcome, even celebrate. We need to stop looking at wealth and prosperity with suspicion. Alongside, we need to build safety nets in terms of food security and livelihood protection for others, till they too make it to the upper brackets.

Pune

With the House of Representatives having voted to impeach the outgoing President Donald Trump on the charge of incitement to insurrection, which made him suffer the ignominy of being the first president to be impeached twice by the House of Representatives, the focus has now shifted to the Senate, the upper chamber, which will now have a trial to determine Trump’s guilt.

However, it is obvious now that the trial will likely begin only after Trump leaves office on January 20. Since late impeachment is constitutional and impeachment is used not just to remove officials from office but also disqualify them from future office, the Democrats could use the Senate impeachment trial to block Trump from running for office again.

Sholavandan, TN

This refers to ‘Govt must raise spending to boost growth’ (January 14). It is obvious that only when demand rises production of a good will go up, since production depends on demand. But for demand to rise, people must have sufficient disposable income. Therefore, attempts should be made to simultaneous improve liquidity in the hands of the people and focus on raising production of such items that are in demand. Reduction in personal income tax can help.

Coimbatore

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