Aamir Khan, who played Bhuvan in the Victorian era movie Lagaan had to win a cricket match against English for exemption of lagaan. But farmers in Rajasthan have been gifted the waiver without much ado. Unlike the movie where farmers ended up winning, the government emerged victorious hitting six on very first ball.
The chief minister Vasundhara Raje opened farm gate to bail out the distressed farmers. In her last budget of this tenure, she announced to exempt land revenue accrued from all kind of agricultural land for the fiscal 2018-19. This will not only help small and marginal farmers but also bring a big relief for farmers having large land holdings. Her decision will cost a revenue loss of Rs 7.5 crore to the exchequer but at the same time will bring smiles on the faces of 40-50 lakh farmer-families.
The recovery of land revenue is primarily carried out by Patwaris and Girdawars. While farmers having large land holdings contribute majorly to 'lagaan', small and marginal farmers' contributions are a meagre.
"Its cumbersome to collect lagaan from small farmers. Most of the time we have to pay it from our pocket to save time and effort for such a small amount," said a Patwari on the condition of anonymity.
Raje's lagaan exemption is likely to be a masterstroke in pacifying agitating farming community in the state. To make it more effective and attractive, she clubbed it with one time farm loan waiver of Rs 50,000 for farmers taking credit from cooperative banks.
For an election year, Raje's rural emphasis is likely to translate into votes when the state goes for poll later this year.
"The CM has announced the booty. But then the government will have less than 6 months to implement. Any gain in terms of votes will depend completely on its execution now," said a BJP leader.
