M A I N   N E W S

Rs 6,000-crore relief for farmers soon
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 24
To mitigate the sufferings of farmers and prevent them from committing suicide, a Rs 6,000-crore statewise relief package is in the offing by the Planning Commission, Minister of State for Planning M.V. Rajasekharan said here today.

In his concluding remarks at ASSOCHAM’s three-day summit on Green Revolution-II, the minister said his department was giving final touches to statewise allocations to provide relief to farmers which would be announced immediately after the forthcoming meeting of the National Development Council scheduled for December 9 under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The Prime Minister and the government was concerned over the plight of farmers and those who had committed suicide, and to put a curb on it, the allocation would shortly be made and subsidies restored to farmers.

Mr Rajasekharan said the government would expedite the process of setting up 1 lakh e-chaupals.