CM raps Centre for withdrawing subsidies on fertilisers

MUMBAI, FEB 29: Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh today strongly criticised the Atal Behari Vajpayee Government for its failure to encourage the farm sector and for withdrawing subsidies on the fertilisers.

In a statement, the Chief Minister said though the Economic Survey presented to the Parliament on Monday expresses concern over poor production in the agriculture sector, no concrete steps have been taken to improve the situation.

However, Deshmukh has welcomed the Centre’s decision to grant massive concessions to the information technology sector, saying, his Government will take full advantage.

Deshmukh said there was no need to create separate departments for tribal development and drinking water at the Centre. “Such departments, which already exist at the state-level, should not be created at the Centre. Instead, it should grant financial assistance to such departments at the state level,” Deshmukh remarked.