Water Resources and Higher Education Minister Anup Mishra has said that 11 lakh additional area has been brought under irrigation during last four and a half years in the state.

Madhya Pradesh's main opposition Congress today arraigned the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led Bharatiya Janata Party regime in the Assembly for its failure to create a sufficient irrigation network.

The government has chalked out several programmes for the betterment of urban poor, but still a lot needs to be done to uplift their living standards.

Over 45-lakh BPL families would be given wheat and rice at subsidised rates of Rs 3 and Rs 4.50 per kg, respectively from April this year. The rate would be Rs 2 less than the prescribed rates.

Problems of the drought-affected people in Madhya Pradesh remain as before. Due to scanty rainfall in Gwalior-Chambal division as also in Bundelkhand, the irrigation was not adequate and hence a good harvest is unlikely. On Monday the question of crippling drought situation in Gwalior-Chambal division figured in the assembly. The Opposition alleged that the state government had been a failure in solving the problems of the drought-affected people and walked out from the House. They charged the govt with making big promises to the suffering people but not fulfilling those promises. Instead, to divert the attention of the people, the state government was making excuses and blaming the Central government for the ills. The government was being partial in doling out relief amount to some selected people, the members charged. The government's attention was drawn towards the drying of crops in hundreds of villages under Bhander canal system, Rajghat project in Bhind district. Water Resources Minister clarified that the Rajghat Canal Project is under Uttar Pradesh. As the dam is in MP, so our state has put pressure on the UP government to give authority for its maintenance. Soon a high-level meeting on this issue is going to be held. The opposition should cooperate with the state government in the interest of the state. Indeed, the farmers facing hardships need relief and other government help. They have nothing to do with the politics being played inside or outside the Assembly. Even they are facing the problem of drinking water. They are already facing the problem of their livelihood but their future is also dark. Keeping aside petty political interests, the parties need to come out with ways to help the farmers.

Farmer Welfare, Agriculture Development and Cooperative Minister Gopal Bhargava said that the state government has made unique efforts in agriculture and cooperative sector in last four years and this is the result of the same that today Madhya Pradesh tops among the other states in the country in agriculture production whereas cooperative institutions and firms have come up from losses of worth crores of rupees and now helping the farmers. Bhargava was answering in Vidhan Sabha today on the supplementary demands of his department. He told that gram production is 937kg per hectare whereas national production average is 808kg per hectare. Our state ranks number one in the country. Similarly, in soyabean production the contribution of our state is 54.41 per cent. In pulses crop production the state's contribution is 24.14 per cent and in oil crop production its contribution is 20.44 per cent. In this way Madhya Pradesh is such a country in agriculture sector which has emerged number one in overall crop production in the country. He said that the state has secured remarkable achievement in wheat production. In the year 1997-98 where the wheat production was 1655kg per hectare now with the efforts of state government it has reached up to 2 thousand kg per hectare. Government of India has proved this achievement of the state. Similarly the state has secured achievement in providing advanced seeds to the farmers. The farmers could only get 4.77 lakh quintal advanced seeds in the year 1997-98 whereas today they are being given 11 lakh 57 thousand quintal advanced seeds. Talking about sugarcane production, Bhargava said that sugarcane crop production has increased due to the agriculture policy of state government. He said that Kisan Mahapanchayat was organised and first time the farmers were given waiving and assisting facilities worth Rs 5 thousand 7 hundred crore which is a historical initiative of the government in favour of farmers. He said that Apex Bank is in profit of Rs 31.42 crore this year. It was awarded as cooperative institution in the whole country. The farmers who were only distributed agriculture loan of Rs 1273 crore in the year 2003-04 now has been increased up to Rs 3 thousand crore in the year 2008-09. In the year 2008-09 the state government has set target to provide Rs 4.5 thousand crore as agriculture loan. He said that the farmers earlier used to receive roan on 18 to14, 14to 7 per cent and now the state government has made arrangement to provide loan on 5 per cent rate of interest. In this connection at around 32 lakh farmers would get the benefit of this provision.

India and the world population has doubled or tripled since the World War II. The world and India produces seven times more food than 60 or more years ago when many nations were in a shambles and farms were marred by mines and other hazardous chemicals in the aftermath of millions killed by bombs and gun battles, though not India, which was not a big theatre of war, but of the war of Independence. Imperial rulers were preoccupied with German and Japanese invaders and with conquering them. India was the fodder of the war machine with 2.5 million soldiers to fight on every front to defeat the Axis power. The war had seen the Bengal Famine with tens of thousands dying of hunger, but official records called it malnutrition, not starvation. That was the Imperial nomenclature, valid ever since until today. Yet in the bygone 20th century we have seen great strides, we have seen great visible progress in pursuit of Mahatma Gandhi's goal of wiping every tear from every Indian face. Irrigation dams by the score have been built and dry farms have had irrigation canals and channels supplying life-giving water. Where canals could not reach hand pumps or powered pumps have been installed to irrigate farms. Punjab, Haryana, western UP and many other States prospered, but not all areas. From 30 million tons of grain, India today produces as much as 210 million tons. For a long time, India was supposed to be self sufficient, not needing to import any grain, though for some years now, as part of the policy of food security a buffer stock has been built and wheat and rice have been imported. Sometimes exotic basmati rice has been exported and cheaper and large quantities of cheaper imported to try and feed Indians, but the exercise has not fully succeeded. In spite of the great Indian success story, when India's economy is one of the fastest growing at a clip of nine per cent per year why do we in free India, 40 per cent of us remain below the poverty line, sleep on an empty stomach, why 42 per cent of all children starve or are very poorly fed? Yet, literacy and education are fundamental rights, food is not. There are no free lunches, though midday school feeding programmes are much in place, yet honored more in the breach than in the observance, because 80 per cent of the money provided must be and is known to be siphoned off by the time it reaches the panchayat or the village or the city school into the pockets of all kinds of people, be they suppliers, petty or senior officials and politicians, down now to the village panch, leave alone the sarpanch. Is that the way of the Third World, if not all world, because corruption in the First Word is far more sophisticated; it runs into millions and billions of dollars, not in peanuts or a few rupees, hundreds or thousands of them. Such is the system, like it or not? Is that why 30 per cent growth some areas of the services sector and nine per cent overall, farm or grain production grows only at 2.6 per cent and in years of monsoon failure or excess of it, the growth is what in modern parlance is sophisticated jugglery of world negative as nobody wants to speak the truth that output has gone down or dropped. Management and official jargon has taken a new leap in falsehood and lies as truth is totally at a discount and invention and magic with words is the norm. That is Harvard or management school education, push the dirt under the rug, don't allow it to be exposed. Thanks to multinational producers and sellers of genetically modified seeds or biotechnology, salesmen push the hybrid seeds for well irrigated farms to grow more cotton whereas rainfed farms can take only ordinary seeds, cheaper and ten times costlier. At the time when farmers in Nagpur or Vidharbha and Andhra should be reaping a big crop, they find zero shoots. They have borrowed money to buy this costly seeds. They are deep in debt, of principal and interest. They have been cheated. Since they cannot afford to pay, the moneylender knocks at their men with musclemen in tow, throws them out of their hearth and home and occupies their parched farm. What does the poor farmer do now? He takes his life, next members of his family start doing the same. Thousands of farmers have been doing so for some decades now, although heartless money lenders have been doing this for centuries gone by. That is the story of Indian village, village after village. Now that a general election is less than 15 months away to choose a new Lok Sabha and three States in the north east are in the process to elect legislatures and six more States will do so before the end of the year or early next year, the Government is engaged in double quick time to line up doles for the voters, especially for the farmers, who are the backbone of a democracy, who hold the maximum number of cards. The magicians that the Prime Minister, his Finance Minister, and their boss, the Chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance are, have ordained that Rs.32,000 crores of buoyant government revenues must be dispensed with as debt relief to farmers to woo them for the grand old party. This is less than ten per cent of the bank loans of Rs.3,42,000 crores the farmers owe to the banks, but it is the government which will reimburse them so that they can balance their books and prudential banking does not receive a jolt. But the farmers at the mercy of private money lenders who charge 2 to 3 per cent are unlikely to benefit. Will they continue to die and starve as before? Only time will tell. God save them, for who else can? Lalit Sethi, NPA

The role of forest dwellers is most important to save forests, who are living in forests for centuries. The natural habitat of these tribals is also jungle like wildlife. Basically they depend upon forest produce and if the solution is sought for their problems at their home then they might be the real saviour of forests and wildlife. Under this concept a scheme has been started to provide them with livilihood resources who are dependent on forest areas. This scheme aims to lessen their dependency on forests. According to the directives of Forest Minister, the forest department is making allocation for funds. For collecting additional amount for the scheme the Forest Minister has given directives to establish coordination with other departments' schemes. Conservator of Forest (livelihood) has been appointed as nodal officer for this work. Nodal officer receiving the proposals from field officers would provide livelihood to the villagers according to their capacity and on the basis of their consent. For different kinds of livelihood and resources a budget provision would be made available. The state government would provide funds for construction of buildings and machinery and Joint Forest Management Committee would provide amount for other works. In the first phase of this scheme, some of the villagers of district would be identified whose means of employment is selling wood after collecting from jungles or who are involved in illegal cutting of trees to earn their livelihood. Such persons would be provided employment resources on priority basis, so that they might be helpful in conservation of forests. It is a good initiative of the State government. This move would ensure security and safety of forests. With this initiative the villagers living in remote areas would get alternative and good employment resources. Role of these forest dwellers would henceforth become more important and wildlife and environment would be remain safe.

The economic growth rate is likely to be 8.7 per cent in the review year 2007-08 as per the Economic Survey report presented in the Parliament. Finance Minister, P Chidambaram expressed concern over continuous rise in inflation. The expected growth rate of 8.7 per cent is as per the trend of the economy, it is informed. The Survey recommends reforms for strengthening of the rupee and to check fall in industrial demand to achieve growth rate of 10 per cent. Finance Minister said that central government and Planning Commission both would have to come forward for the reforms in policies and institutional reforms so that in the coming decades foundation for higher economic growth could be laid. Concern was expressed on economic slowdown in America, effect of strong position of rupee, slow industrial production due to decreasing demand of consumer items and lack of basic facilities of commodity and social sector. There is need to meet challenges both at the central and the state-level. These policies of central government should be managed well and the inflation should be checked with a view to strong economic system. The states should also reform their system in government and semi-government services. Real rate of interest should be according to inflation and in this connection loan and share market should be made liberal. We are behind in agriculture sector. Efforts are on for reforms in this direction. The survey calls for removal of hurdles coming in the path of modernisation and advancement of agriculture. According to the review, investments and savings and debt and loans are decided through real rate of interest. With a view to control inflation, agriculture needs to be modernised. The survey says the government is committed to make the economy strong, to increase pace of development and economic growth rate. Efforts on checking inflation are being made and proper measures would be adopted in this connection.

Rehabilitation benefits have been provided to all 32,160 families affected by Sardar Sarovar project, who had opted to be rehabilitated in Madhya Pradesh. Out of total 37,975 families of MP affected by 138.68m final dam height of the project 5815 had to be rehabilitated in Gujarat state. Out of these 5815 families, rehabilitation of 5782 families had also been completed in Gujarat. Now only 33 families have to be rehabilitated. This was informed during a review of rehabilitation progress under Narmada Valley projects by vice chairman of Narmada Valley Development Authority Pradeep Bhargava here at Narmada Bhavan. Bhargava was chairing a meeting to review the rehabilitation status of three major projects of the valley namely-Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP), Indira Sagar Project (ISP) and Omkareshwar (OSP). The Director Rehabilitation, RK Gupta informed that as much as 22438 residential plots had been allotted to the affected families in 88 rehabilitation sites developed for resettlement. There was option before displace families to take residential plot of 60x90 feet size free of cost or go for Rs 50,000 in lieu of plot. Using this option, 7806 families opted to take cash director rehabilitation informed. Bhargava reviewing the rehabilitation status of ISP and OSP directed officials to make frequent visits in the project affected areas so to address the problems of PAF's. He said that field officers should discharge rehabilitation work with full sensitivity besides keeping a strict vigil on encroachments in the areas vacated by PAF's. Bhargava also reviewed the work of shifting temples and monuments of archaeological importance from the reservoir areas of these projects with Director Archaeology Pramod Agarwal. He asked to prepare a time bound program to shift the remaining monuments before the onset of monsoon. He said that relocation sites of temples should be decided in consultation with local people and district Administration. Vice Chairman informed that a decision has been taken to cover project-affected families under various schemes of rural development. The officers have been put to specific training to make survey and prepare working plan for implementing various rural development and employment oriented schemes for displaced population of the Narmada Valley. He said that construction of irrigation field channels under Narmada Valley Projects would be undertaken in National Rural Employment Guaranty Scheme. It may be mentioned here that SSP would provide 57% of its total power generation to MP, which amounts to 826.5 MW. The state had already started drawing its power share.