Farmers breathe easy after CM waives agriculture land tax

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's announcement to waive land tax to provide impetus to the agriculture sector in the state has come as a boon to farmers who are still in "deep trouble" due to the Modi government's hasty decision to demonetise high value notes.

Mamata Banerjee-government is undertaking major development works for an overall development of the state despite having a huge debt burden and being "deprived of" allocation of funds by the Centre for different projects. In such a situation, the Chief Minister has taken a huge decision of waiving land tax of those who own up to 12 acres of irrigated farmland or 18 acres of rain-fed land, to support farmers when they are distressed. It would cost Rs 120 to Rs 200 crore to the state's exchequer, according to an official in the state Secretariat.

The Land and Land Reforms department has started working on it soon after the Chief Minister made the announcement from Kharagpur on Monday. The Block Land and Land Reform officers have been communicated in this connection so that local officials to not accept if any farmers come to deposit land tax.

"Our country is supposed to run on the principal of welfare state. The Centre it seems is gradually trying to do away with the concept of the welfare state. But in our state we give importance and stress on welfare. So our Chief Minister has introduced different schemes that benefit hundreds of people and it is from the principal of welfare state decision to waive the land tax for farmers have been taken," said an official.

Most farmers had to take loans at high rates of interest as all of a sudden demonetisation was announced during the Kharif season. They are yet to clear the loan amount as they again had to arrange money for Rabi cultivation.

In such a situation if they have to give land tax it becomes quite difficult for the farmers. Thus the Chief Minister's announcement has come as a relief.

Moreover, there are certain areas where the Centre can pose its "neglecting attitude" towards the state government and one of it is the agriculture sector. Since it is not irrelevant for West Bengal, the decision taken by the Chief Minister was quite essential right at this moment to let farmers survive, the official said.

Sources said that a complaint was lodged against officials in a Block Land and Land Reform office in which some farmers had alleged that they were asked to pay land tax (khazna) for the past few years at a time "as the land record was not available".