Maharashtra govt’s Ladki Bahin scheme throws a curveball for farmers

Gavit has besides received `6,000 successful 4 monthly instalments nether the Maharashtra government’s Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana (MMLBY). This scheme, launched by the ruling Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti conjugation successful July, provides a nonstop payment transportation of `1,500 per period to women aged 21-65 years from families with yearly income beneath `2.5 lakh.

For workplace labourers similar Gavit, the wealth from MMLBY, announced conscionable months earlier Assembly elections, is simply a bonus implicit and supra the rainfall god’s bounty that has created plentifulness of harvesting and planting enactment demand. But the caller strategy is thing that Mujahid Ali is not blessed about. For the past 1 week, this husbandman from Sonala colony successful Buldhana district’s Sangrampur taluka has been going retired successful hunt of labourers to harvest his fabric that volition beryllium acceptable for its archetypal picking by the mediate of this month.

“Right now, I americium not getting confirmation from anybody. The bolls person afloat formed and immoderate person adjacent burst. My kapas (raw un-ginned cotton) yields are going to beryllium good, but each that volition travel to naught if there’s nary 1 to harvest it,” says the 37-year-old, who cultivates the fibre harvest successful 18 acres. Like Ali, respective farmers crossed Maharashtra’s fabric and soyabean-growing belts of Vidarbha and Marathwada are blaming MMLBY for what they assertion is 1 of the reasons for an unprecedented labour shortage, which has adjacent enactment the brakes connected harvesting.

“The women who person already started getting the wealth are not funny successful coming to our fields. The ones who are yet to get the wealth are engaged organising documents and going to the Nagrik Suvidha Kendra (Common Services Centre) to avail of the scheme’s benefits,” says Ali.

Ramesh Patil, a husbandman from Latur, agrees determination is simply a paucity of labour successful his area. “Labour is abbreviated successful proviso and we had to marque arrangements from different districts,” helium says, adding that the Ladki Bahin strategy has pushed up the labour cost. In Akola, Lalit Patil, person of a workplace national called Shetkari Sanghatana, says they had to bring labour from Baitul and different areas of Madhya Pradesh. “Labour successful Maharashtra is highly abbreviated successful proviso and this twelvemonth the information is truly bad,” helium says. Patil mentions however astir women who prime fabric are present engaged collecting documents to get the nonstop currency transfer.

“The ones who person got the wealth are either asking for higher rates which farmers would not beryllium capable to afford, oregon plainly refusing to travel to enactment connected the fields.”

Farmers are besides successful a hurry to harvest soyabean and the archetypal picking of fabric owed to fears of rains from the retreat of the southwest monsoon.

The years from 2019 to 2022 each saw dense showers from the retreating monsoon during October, causing harm to the harvest-ready crops successful galore parts of Maharashtra.
Gavit partially agrees that MMLBY whitethorn person led to immoderate cultivation labourers choosing to enactment little oregon adjacent beryllium astatine home: “But I cannot accidental that for myself. As a parent of 4 children, I request the wealth from work. Ladli Bahin unsocial volition not beryllium capable for me.”

Gyani Sawalkar (35), a landless workplace labourer from Salai colony successful Dharni taluka of Amravati district, says that she was earlier moving 7 days a week for a regular wage of `200.
“Now I americium getting `1,500 per period from the scheme. And since my hubby is already earning, I find it indispensable to spell retired and enactment for lone two-three days of the week,” she says.
That’s not euphony to the ears of Satish Desai, who is engaged supervising the harvesting of soyabean connected his 20-acre holding astatine Chincholi Nikoba colony successful Hingoli district’s Aundha taluka. It takes astir 5 women to harvest an acre of the oilseed implicit 2 days.

“Last year, I was paying `250-300 per pistillate per day. This time, I americium paying `400 and besides taking attraction of their nutrient and housing,” says this farmer, who has travelled each the mode to Amravati to get workers to harvest his crop. All of them volition person to beryllium dropped backmost location aft the occupation is done.

“Ladli Bahin has decidedly played a part. A outgo of `1,500 per period is not small, arsenic it volition conscionable a important portion of the request of galore agrarian women labourers. Now, they person the prime of not coming to enactment oregon moving lone a fewer days,” says Desai. In cotton, the harvesting labour is paid a per-kg picking rate. Ali says that past year, helium was paying a complaint of `4/kg astatine the commencement of the picking season. That roseate to `10/kg successful November-December during the 2nd and 3rd pickings, which was besides the highest play of plantings of the rabi crop.

“This time, adjacent the ones showing involvement are demanding `10/kg astatine the start, which was the complaint during the highest play past year,” complains Ali.