RANIKE:    The Punjab Government today came to the aid of thousands of farmers owning land across the barbed wire fence on the Indo-Pak border by granting them an annual compensation of Rs. 3000 per acre which has been denied to them since the last ten years by the Congress led UPA government.

Presiding over a special function along with Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia to disburse compensation cheques of worth Rs. 99 lakh to 3285 farmers belonging to 47 border villages of Amritsar district with 3327 acres of land across the fencing, Deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said the government had decided to compensate them for the difficulty faced by them in cultivating their land by deciding to restart the cash compensation scheme. He said this scheme was initiated more than ten years back by the central government led by the NDA but had been discontinued during UPA rule. 

Nearly 20,000 acres of land in six border districts of Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Ferozepur, Tarn Taran and Fazilka is situated beyond the international fencing in Indian Territory.Mr Badal said the Punjab government had released Rs. 6 crore for compensation this year from its limited resources as the Congress led UPA Government did not bother to come to the aid of Punjabi farmers despite requests made by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to the Prime Minister as well as the Union Home minister. He said the State government would make this an annual feature.

In another major relief for border farmers, the Deputy CM announced that every farmer having land across the barbed fence would be awarded a tubewell connection by December this year. He informed that till date around 2000 tube well connections had already been issued to the farmers having land across the fencing.Earlier speaking on the occasion, Punjab Revenue and Public Relations Minister Mr. Bikram Singh Majithia said the Congress had always accorded step-motherly treatment to Punjab farmers and that the farmers of the border region were the worst sufferers. He said farmers were dealing with two borders. One International and the second one the fencing erected by the Union Home Ministry as farmers did not have freedom to cultivate their own land in Indian territory even after 66 years of independence.

Mr Majithia pointed out the grave injustice being meted out to the border farmers by not only denying them compensation, but also not compensating them for land acquired for various purposes like construction of 11 feet wide road along with fencing setting up of border posts, bunkers and pillars. He said that it was an irony that despite a Sikh Prime Minister who belonged to Amritsar the problems of border farmers were multiplying day by day as the Gandhi family had reduced the PMO office to the status of a rubber stamp.

He said that consecutive tenures of Congress led UPA government has broken the backbone of Punjab peasantry with roof piercing inflation in agri-inputs with many fold increase in fertilizers, pesticides, diesel followed by non-remunerative MSP ignoring recommendations of Dr. Swaminathan Commission.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Gulzar Singh Ranike, Cabinet Minister, representing Attari constituency on Indo-Pak border briefly outlined the problems being faced by the border farmers. He also expressed gratitude for the Punjab Government’s Special Anti-narcotic drive resulting in major recoveries.Prominent amongst others who were present on the occasion included, Mr. Virsa Singh Valtoha, Mr. Harmeet Singh Sandhu, Mr. Indebir Singh Bolaria and Mr. Amarpal Singh Ajnala, all Chief Parliamentary Secretaries, Mr. Manjit Singh Manna, MLA and Mr. Veer Singh Lopoke, Chairman District Planning Committee