Congress works on Plan paper wishlist

The Congress wants the UPA government to include in the 11th Plan the recommendations of the National Commission on Farmers chaired by MS Swaminathan, including the one for setting up an Indian Trade Organisation (ITO) for formulating strategy at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Picking holes in the approach paper to the 11th Plan, senior party leaders said it looked like a "general document" without any "incisive policy initiatives."

For instance, it talks about the need for "skill development" but does not specify how, according to an AICC general secretary.

Congress leaders, therefore, want the Planning Commission to hold discussions with political parties to finetune the paper.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi is learnt to have deputed a minister of state for consulting Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia to arrange a meeting with senior partymen for discussing the approach paper.

The discussions would give the partymen a chance to put forward their views on a host of issues which were discussed at the Congress chief ministers' conclave at Nainital last month. These include minimum support price, imports and public investment in agriculture,

For instance, the party feels that the import duty of 10 per cent on cotton encourages the textile industry to import from the US, where the product is highly subsidised.

"We would like the import duty on cotton to be increased significantly to protect domestic cotton-growers. That's why we need an ITO to protect Indian farmers' interests," a senior Congress leader told Business Standard.

A note prepared by the Congress for discussion with the Plan panel is critical of the approach paper for not mentioning shortage of pulses and oilseeds in the country. "The rate (of growth) in agriculture is a matter of serious concern and after 25 years we had to import wheat for our public distribution system (PDS)," the note says.

Congress members also have reservations about the relief packages prepared for states which have a high incidence of farmers' suicides.

"The Vidarbha package did not work because the root cause was not addressed. People grow Bt Cotton, which requires much more water and more money for seeds even as there are few takers for homegrown cotton. The issue of ground water recharge, which is so crucial to agriculture, has not got much attention in the approach paper," a Congress leader said.