Mumbai, July 2 (IANS) Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SP) legislator Jayant Patil on Thursday called upon the Maharashtra government not to deceive women through the Maharashtra Women Farmers Empowerment Bill.

He demanded that the names of women should be registered on the 7/12 land extracts (land title documents) and transfer 50 per cent of the land held in the husband’s name to the wife.

Tearing into the Maharashtra Women Farmers Empowerment Bill with a volley of sharp queries, Jayant Patil demanded that the state government must clarify whether financial institutions will provide collateral-free loans to women farmers, and what security will be expected from them.

While introducing the Maharashtra Women Farmers Empowerment Bill in the State Assembly, Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharne claimed that the Bill is crucial for the holistic development of women.

Ruling party female Ministers and members from across the benches strongly supported the Bill.

However, Jayant Patil said that if a woman does not own land in her name, she cannot fundamentally be classified as a woman farmer.

He demanded that women’s names be officially registered on 7/12 documents and that 50 per cent of a husband’s land holding be legally transferred to his wife.

“Once women are given the official status of a farmer, will banks provide them with loans without unnecessary hassles? What collateral will banks demand from these women farmers while disbursing loans? The government must clarify this,” he demanded.

He also noted that the proposed law includes provisions to set up various committees led by the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the Chief Secretary Rajesh Aggarwal, and the Agriculture Secretary Parimal Singh.

“Do not deceive women by creating multiple committees. These committees are of no practical use. Scrap them and set up just a single committee led by the Agriculture Minister. A large number of female labourers migrate to Maharashtra from other states. Will these women be granted the status of ‘women farmers’? Will they benefit from government services? It is being said that women in the processing industry will receive government benefits, but will the actual women farmers in rural areas benefit from this government scheme?” Jayant Patil asked.

Shiv Sena-UBT MLA Kailas Patil demanded that the state government clarify what measures are being taken to prevent malpractices, alleging that 81 lakh bogus beneficiaries had illegally availed of the ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme.

“In our state, the law dictates that a person must own at least half an acre of land to legally qualify as a farmer. Therefore, unless women have half an acre of agricultural land registered in their name, they do not get recognised as farmers. There is no clarity on how you plan to allocate half an acre of land to the women you wish to grant ‘farmer’ status to,” Shiv Sena-UBT legislator Bhaskar Jadhav said.

Throwing down a challenge to the state government, Jadhav added, “This Bill is not limited to rural areas; it extends to urban areas as well. First tell us, how are you going to provide half an acre of land in urban areas?”

–IANS

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