HARD FACT: Villagers giving up farming due to MNREGA and welfare schemes

Dharamsala, December 17, 2012: MNERGA have diverted the farming taste of the traditional farmers in Himachal Pradesh,especially in the district of Kangra.

It may be mentioned here that Kangra is the largest populated district of the state having majority of its population as farmers because of the fertile valley of river Beas and its tributaries fed by glaciers of Dhouladhar ranges. But this traditional livelihood is being left out by many, making their fields as barren grounds. Many farmers in the district have given up farming. From farmers growing grain and vegetables atleast for their own needs, they have been reduced to laborers under MNREGA.

One can easily glance these site if start motoring around the district. One can find that many farmers have abandoned their fields along roadside and similar are the result in the areas away from the roads. Enquiries have revealed that they have stopped working in the fields due to MNREGA and cheap rations provided by the government.

Maya Devi, a former Sarpanch of a village near Dharamsala said,” People get more than three thousand per month under the MNREGA while rations cost less than Rs 1,000 at public distribution shops.”

Besides MNREGA, farmers are also facing problems in farming due to monkey menace and that of stray and wild animals. In the last few years, the number of stray cattle in the area has increased, as the public leave them free, due to non- availably of fodder. Cattle destroy fields and the farmers cannot hurt them due to religious beliefs. To rectify this problem, Dhumal lead BJP government of Himachal Pradesh earlier proposed to the Centre that farmers be allowed to guard their fields from wild animals under MNREGA, but unfortunately it was turned down.

Many progressive farmers involved in dairy and poultry farming also finding it difficult to run their business as the labour they need have shifted to MNREGA. The maximum number of people from rural areas in the state to get employment under the MNREGA is from Kangra district. In the last couple of years, about Rs 400crore was spent under the MNREGA in the district.