PONDA: Fifty percent of the agricultural land in Marcaim remains fallow as farmers struggle with delayed funds and subsidies, hindering farming activities in the region. The delay in releasing funds for maintenance work and the government’s sluggishness in providing subsidies are seen as the primary reasons behind this unfortunate situation.
Premanand Gaude, secretary of the Bar Amre Khajan Tenants Association, expressed concerns about the hardships faced by farmers in obtaining timely approval of funds for maintenance work. The Ponda Mamlatdar is expected to release funds from the bank accounts of farmers’ committees. However, delays in payments have deterred contractors and laborers from conducting maintenance work. Gaude urged the Mamlatdar to inspect the work immediately and sanction funds promptly to ensure smooth operations.
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Similarly, the Soil and Conservation Department is supposed to release a 50 percent subsidy for repair and maintenance work based on the Mamlatdar’s report. But the bureaucratic processes have been slow, leaving farmers struggling to conduct repairs and other agricultural activities on time, leading to the abandonment of land.
Gaude highlighted that in 2022, a breach in the bandhara resulted in the ingress of saline water, damaging crops. However, many farmers did not receive compensation from the government. Additionally, six months ago, many farmers were forced to keep their land fallow as their fields were submerged under water.
Marcaim Village Panchayat is home to around 25 lakh square meters of agricultural land, with approximately 600 farmers. However, due to various reasons mentioned above, half of this land remains fallow. The issue is further exacerbated by damage caused by stray cattle, which discourages farmers from engaging in agriculture activities.
The farmers in Marcaim are appealing to the government to address these issues promptly, by timely release of funds and subsidies.
