By Dr. Gyan Pathak
In a rally organized in Pratapgarh on July 4, 2023 in the poll-bound state Rajasthan, the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India Nitin Gadkari, has said that an innovative proposal has been made to reduce the price of petrol to Rs 15 per litre. On that day petrol was being sold in Rajasthan at Rs113.48 per litre, and hence attracted the attention of the people who understood Gadkari’s statement implying that if the Modi government returns to power after the 2024 general election petrol will be sold at Rs15 per litre.
Is it an election ‘jumla’ again? The intention behind this statement seems not only to attract all who use petrol but also the 70 per cent of the population who are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood is clear, since he also said that the petrol prices would be brought to Rs15 a litre by producing ethanol from foodgrains and then blending it on an average 60 per cent in petrol. Through it, India would save a massive import expenditure of Rs16 lakh crore that would be redirected towards the farmers’ households.
There is a parallel from 2014 election campaign that turned out to be a ‘jumla’. The BJP’s PM candidate Narendra Modi had promised to bring back all the black money of Indians stashed in foreign banks and deposit Rs15 lakh into every citizen’s bank account. Later, party chief Amit Shah has said that it was a “jumla”. In 2018, an RTI was filed in the PMO asking for exact date when the money will be deposited, the PMO said that this cannot be considered “information” under the rules of RTI. Now everyone knows that Modi government has utterly failed in bringing back the black money, and citizens can’t even hope for the promised Rs15 lakh in their accounts.
Then there are other issues involved, such as issue of ethanol blending. As per the “Roadmap for Ethanol Blending in India by 2020-25”, India intends to reach a blending of 20 per cent of ethanol by 2025/26. However, the government is even faster than its roadmap, on February 6, 2023, the Centre rolled out 20 per cent ethanol blending at select petrol pumps in 11 states and Union Territories as part of the programme to increase use of biofuels to cut emissions as well as dependence on foreign exchange-draining import of petroleum.
Ethanol is produced from sugarcane, foodgrains and other bio-sources. India gives subsidies for agricultural produce in the name of welfare of farmers and the poor people, but the Centre diverts huge amount of “food subsidies” to industries. Poverty stricken people are left in the lurch and subsidies on their foodgrains are actually provided to the business and industries, a fact that cannot be said an ‘honest’ act for the common people.
There is a recent example of refusing even sale of rice at Rs 34 per kilogram to Karnataka, the state where the Congress has thrown the BJP out of power. The new Congress government had announced 10 kg rice to all poor households, but the Modi government was not ready to provide the state the subsidized rice at Rs 20 a kg. The state government then asked for rice from free market scheme of the government at the rate of Rs 34 a kg. Even though Food Corporation of India (FCI), after initially agreed, finally refused to sell rice to the state even at the offered price of Rs 34 a kg intended to feed poor people in Karnataka.
As part of the politics, the Centre has even refused to supply food to some BJP ruled states to balance its act, to appear politically neutral, but it could not veil the cruelty of the government of refusing rice to the poor even at offered price of Karnataka at Rs 34 a kg, but supplied huge quantity of rice to industries for ethanol production at subsidized rate of Rs20 per kg.
Some 81,044 tons of FCI rice was allocated in the ethanol production during ethanol supply year (December-November) 2020-21, as per the date presented by the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, and it was priced at Rs20 per kg. It should be noted that the foodgrains are procured from the farmers at unfair MSP rates for the purported purpose of food security, but was diverted to industries.
It should also be noted that the Government fixes the prices of ethanol produced from different bio-sources. The Centre had priced the ethanol produced from rice and maize at Rs51.55 per litre during 2020-21 for which it had allocated over 81,000 tons of rice. It is simply a fraud against farmers and the people of the country when one procures foodgrains at very cheap MSP in the name of food security but actually divert it to industrial production.
Mr Gadkari said that Rs16 lakh crore to be saved from 60 per cent of blending would be transferred to farmer households, why his government is not transferring the profit already being made by ethanol production? Obviously, they don’t intend to. They are promising they would do when PM Modi led BJP government would return to power for the third time. It is simply a cheating of the people of the country.
It is irony that the Centre is not even ready to give remunerative MSP to farmers, but promising them Rs16 lakh crore if government reaches 60 per cent of ethanol blending. Centre’s launching 20 per cent blending for 11 states and UTs now is now several months old, and all India 10 per cent average blending was achieved by June 2022. Government saved lakhs of crore rupees from import of oil, but where the money gone? Of course, not to the farmers, since farmers are still agitating for a fair MSP and its legal guarantee, and the Modi government has been denying it.
Oil companies had procured 80.09 crore litres of ethanol up to January 30, 2023 for blending in petrol during the ESY 2022-23 and 6 crore litres of bio-diesel for blending with diesel during the year. However, the profits went to big business and corporate houses, not farmers.
PM Modi had promised doubling of farmers income by 2022, but it remains a dream. Even in the last crop season, many farmers were compelled to sell their potatoes and onions at Rs1-2 per kg, which was a shame. Farmers continue suicides across the country. Poor in extreme poverty are going empty stomach. The latest SDG atlas of the World Bank says that 134 million people were under international poverty line in 2019 and the number exceeded tremendously during the COVID and 800 million people survived on 5kg free rice. The atlas reveals that 68.5 per cent people in India ie 973 million were not able to afford healthy diet in 2021.
In this backdrop, the Centre not supplying food for the poor while procuring in the name of food security and diverting to industries at subsidised rate is unethical. The government intends to raise blending to 60 per is therefore dangerous for food security for the people, which Modi government intends to reach in his third term if comes to power after 2024 election.
Modi’s three controversial farms laws that intended to bring Corporate to farms, that was fought tooth and nail by the farmers, due to which PM Modi had to withdraw them should now be understandable what the government really wants. Farmers are still demanding remunerative MSP and its legal guarantee, and the people demanding subsidised food, but they are refused while industries are being supplied the same at subsidised rates. (IPA Service)
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