Opposition members in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) launched a sharp critique against the state government on Monday, highlighting the persistent and multifaceted problems plaguing the farming community. The MLCs argued that the government's flagship claim of doubling farmers' income has failed to materialize on the ground, with cultivators facing a barrage of challenges from rising costs to delayed payments.
Key Issues Raised by Opposition MLCs
Samajwadi Party MLC Balram Yadav led the charge, stating that the reality for farmers starkly contradicts official claims. "The input cost in farming has gone up," he asserted, pinpointing the core of the distress. He elaborated that farmers are grappling with a trifecta of troubles: significant delays in receiving payments for their produce, an acute shortage of essential fertilizers, and burdensome electricity rates that squeeze their already thin margins.
Focusing on regional specifics, MLC Kiranpal Kashyap brought attention to the sugarcane farmers of western Uttar Pradesh. He acknowledged a government increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for sugarcane but criticized it as insufficient. "It is still not at par with what the neighbouring state of Haryana is offering," he noted, putting the state's policy in a comparative light. Kashyap also raised the alarm for potato growers, suffering due to the absence of a government-fixed MSP for their crop, leaving them vulnerable to market volatility.
Adding another critical dimension to the debate, MLC Mukul Yadav highlighted the twin menaces of stray cattle and farm waste management. The rampant stray cattle problem destroys standing crops, while the lack of clear solutions for managing agricultural waste adds to the farmers' operational burdens.
Government's Defence and Data Counter
In a firm rebuttal, State Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi dismissed the opposition's charges and presented statistical data to defend the government's record. He emphasized that the per capita income in the state has improved significantly over the past eight years, a trend he directly attributed to solid governmental steps aimed at doubling farmers' income.
To substantiate his point, Minister Shahi provided specific cultivation data. He stated that the total area under kharif cultivation has expanded from approximately 90 lakh hectares in 2013-14 to 105 lakh hectares at present. Similarly, for the rabi season, the cultivated area has seen a substantial rise from 1.20 lakh hectares to 138.71 lakh hectares in the same comparative period.
A Clash of Narratives on Farm Welfare
The debate in the Vidhan Parishad underscores a deep divide in the perception of agricultural health in Uttar Pradesh. The opposition narrative, built on immediate ground-level issues like input costs, payment delays, and the stray cattle crisis, paints a picture of ongoing distress. They squarely blame the state government's ineptitude in addressing these key issues for the farmers' suffering.
Conversely, the government's narrative, backed by macro-level data on income growth and expanded cultivation area, projects a story of progressive development and long-term improvement. This clash leaves the core question unanswered for the farming community: when will the macro-economic gains translate into tangible relief from their daily struggles?
