The Delhi government on Tuesday allocated Rs 100 crore for Minimum Support Price to farmers in accordance with the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, PTI reported. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia made the announcement while presenting the government’s annual budget for 2019-’20 in the Delhi Assembly.
The commission, set up in 2014, was tasked with formulating a system to encourage profitable sustainable farming.
Delhi, the deputy chief minister said, is the first state to implement the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations. On February 1, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government had announced a Rs 75,000-crore scheme to provide direct income support to small farmers in its interim Budget.
Sisodia said the panel had recommended setting the minimum support price at one and half times more than the cost of production. He announced the launch of Smart Krishi Yojana, an initiative to help farmers with knowledge about technology for high yielding and high quality variety of crops.
The AAP government has also assigned Rs 400 crore towards developing infrastructure in Delhi’s villages. Sisodia said the amount is double the sum assigned in the previous financial year. The state assigned 26% of its Rs 60,000 crore-annual budget for the next financial year to the education sector. The minister said the government will also focus on reducing pollution levels and saving its green cover.
Sisodia said the government has allocated Rs 7,485 crore towards the health sector, with Rs 588 crore being designated for the construction of new hospitals and re-modelling of existing ones.
The Aam Aadmi Party-led administration has earmarked Rs 749 crore towards agriculture and rural development for 2019-20.
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