Govt ready for talks, can amend farm laws if needed: Rajnath Singh
Bhopal, Feb 11: The Union government is ready to discuss the new agriculture laws with farmers' leaders with an open mind and even to amend them if necessary, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said here on Thursday.
The new laws are aimed at doubling farmers' income, Singh said, speaking at a function to inaugurate thousands of small-scale irrigation projects in Madhya Pradesh.
Singh's statement follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi's fresh appeal to protesting farmers on Wednesday to come forward for talks and the assurance that the government is open to amending the laws if there are any shortcomings.
"We are ready to talk with an open mind on farm laws and if needed even make amendments to them. As a result of our government's decisions, a new confidence is being built among common farmers. And due to this (confidence) farmers have achieved a record production," Singh said.
"In 2017, the prime minister had vowed to double farmers' income by 2022. This was not an easy resolve ....against the backdrop of this, the three farm laws were enacted last year," he said.
The new laws aim at fetching fair price for farmers' produce and give them liberty to sell it wherever they wish, the Union minister further said.
But "people with vested interests" created confusion over the three laws, spreading misconceptions such as markets run by Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees and Minimum Support Prices (MSP) will be abolished and farmers' lands will be mortgaged, Singh alleged.
The prime minister had stated categorically in Parliament that neither any APMC Mandi has closed after the new laws came into force, nor has the MSP regime ended, he said, adding that rather the MSP has increased.
Under the new laws, agricultural produce will be up for sale and not the land, the Union minister stressed.
Saying that Mahatma Gandhi considered villages as the soul of India, Singh said development of rural areas was the government's priority.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
