Niti Aayog, states and experts warned the scheme was scam-prone. But Modi gov’t ignored them to upscale a failed scheme of Madhya Pradesh government across the country.
By SHREEGIREESH JALIHAL
NEW DELHI, Sep 6 (The CONNECT) – The Modi government scaled up nationally a price protection scheme for farmers disregarding multiple internal warnings that it is prone to corruption and hard evidence from a disastrous experiment in Madhya Pradesh, reveal internal documents.
The scheme was launched despite warnings from states, including BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, that it was designed to help corrupt traders and not farmers. The Union government imposed it on states though the majority of them had spoken against it.
The price protection scheme, officially known as price deficiency payment system (PDPS), was the showpiece of the three-pronged PM Aasha scheme launched ahead of the 2019 general elections to protect farmers against wildly fluctuating prices of pulses and oilseeds. It promised to top up the earnings if farmers earned less than the government-fixed minimum support price (MSP).
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Originally published by The Reporters’ Collective
