Rajya Sabha member Partap Singh Bajwa on Friday urged Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi to introduce a separate budget for agriculture and incorporate crop diversification in the name of the ministry of agriculture and farmers’ welfare.
In a letter to Channi, Bajwa, who is also the chairman of the Congress manifesto committee for the 2022 state polls, said the government should introduce a specialised and focused agricultural budget as the need to diversify from the paddy/wheat cycle was imperative to protect the future of every Punjabi.
“It is time for Punjab to take the lead in showcasing a strong alternative model for agricultural development across India,” he wrote, referring to another letter he sent on August 14 to the then chief minister in this regard.
He further recommended that the agriculture and farmers’ welfare ministry should be renamed as the ministry for agriculture, farmers’ welfare and crop diversification. “This change will highlight the serious policy shift of the government in tackling the present problems facing the agricultural sector in the state,” he said, calling it the right time to make these changes and start laying the groundwork for the “evergreen revolution”.