Punjab moots pension for farmers

Chandigarh, May 16 (IANS) Reeling under a cumulative debt burden of over Rs.35,000 crore, farmers of Punjab could soon benefit from a pension scheme.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Wednesday asked the state chief secretary to work out a viable proposal to introduce a pension scheme for the farmers across the state.

He said that the scheme was being initiated to instil a sense of security among farmers and enable them to lead a quality life with dignity in the evening of their lives.

Presiding over a meeting of a farmers' Plegation of Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) led by its president Balbir Singh Rajewal here Wednesday, Badal said that scheme could be on the lines of the National Pension Scheme in which a fixed amount could be paid by the farmers and an equal amount contributed by the state government for paying monthly pension to them at a fixed retirement age of 60 or 65 years to be mutually agreed upon.

The state government had earlier this week sought a viable bail out from the Planning Commission for Punjab farmers. It pointed out that farmers in the state are under a collective debt of over Rs.35,000.

Punjab, known as the bread basket state of India since it contributes 60 per cent of the food grain (wheat and rice) to the national kitty, has had a bumper crop of wheat this season. Till Wednesday, over an estimated 4.5 lakh tonnes of wheat had been procured. This is an all-time high record in the last few decades.