SHILLONG, Aug 20: In an apparent jibe at Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, People’s Democratic Front (PDF) leader Banteidor Lyngdoh recalled Tynsong’s ties with the Congress-led MUA coalition government, which had banned the use of fertilisers in 2014.
Banteidor’s statement came after a query about Tynsong’s claims that Chief Minister Conrad Sangma along with him had taken a decision of providing subsidy to farmers for procurement of fertilisers.
“He (Tynsong) was part of the Cabinet in 2014 to ban the use of fertilisers. The previous Congress government had taken the decision without taking into account about the welfare of the farmers in the state,” Lyngdoh, who is also the Agriculture Minister, said.
When asked if the National People’s Party (NPP) is trying to take credit by not consulting him before taking such a crucial decision of providing subsidy to the farmers, the Agriculture minister said he understands that there is nothing wrong in trying to earn political image since elections is around the corner.
Asserting that the public knows the people who are responsible for lifting the ban on use of fertilisers, he said the Agriculture department had issued the order on August 9 in this connection.
According to him, the department had also convened a meeting with few of the MLAs and the farmers on August 18 to discuss this order. “But I want to make it very clear that the PDF will not play politics when it comes to issues affecting the farmers. I feel we should not play politics when it comes to issues affecting the farmers. Let that be only within the corridors of the Secretariat,” the working president of the PDF said.
Moreover, he also explained that the ban which was lifted was only meant for affected areas.
According to him, only farmers who are engaged in the cultivation of potato, tomato and cabbage are exempted from the purview of the ban. “The farmers who are engaged in cultivating of these crops will require fertilisers for increasing their production,” Lyngdoh added.
He asserted that the government is still committed to promote organic farming in the state
As per Lyngdoh, the decision to lift the ban for affected farmers was taken after the department carried out an in-depth research. Earlier, the deputy chief minister had said that the state government has to decide to extend subsidy of the fertilisers procured by the farmers.
“We have this decision along with the CM. We took a decision that 50 percent subsidy will be extended to the farmers who procure these fertilizers,” he had said.
When asked why this decision was not announced by the Agriculture Minister, Tynsong had said that certain decisions will have to be taken at the level of the CM.
