The high inflation and price rise currently crippling domestic consumption emerged as the primary concern of the civil society at the finance minister Pranab Mukherjee's pre-budget consultation on Thursday

NGOs representatives urged the government to take corrective measures to rein in high inflation. “In the meeting, I talked about the policies regarding inflation and corruption, and how the government has failed to contain it. There is need to change these policies,” Sandeep Pandey from ASHA told Governance Now after the meeting with Mukherjee.

“There are some immediate concerns for economic management arising from inflationary pressures, and from the uncertain external environment, we have the ability to address them,” Mukherjee told the gathering.

“There is an urgent need to have separate agriculture budget for the country on the lines of railway budget,” Pandey put forth his demand in the pre-budget consultation and added, “It is the biggest sector of the country and the policies regarding more emphasis on industry and services sector has not helped in eradicating poverty of the country.

By January 1, 2011, the food inflation touched 16.91 percent from 18.32 percent in the preceding week. Onions, which saw an unprecedented price spurt last month are still selling at more than Rs 50-60 per kg at several outlets all over the country even after the agriculture minister Sharad Pawar had said that the prices would come down in a couple of weeks.

The lone environmental NGO in the meeting, Greenpeace demanded a “Green Budget” for the country in its presentation to the finance ministry. “If India as a country is serious about giving energy to all, then we need to think beyond false solutions like nuclear energy and dirty options like coal and invest in decentralised renewable energy,” Greenpeace India executive director Samit Aich told Governance Now. 

Greenpeace also called for greater government allocation for practicing ecological fertilisation. “The government needs to create an alternate support system that promotes all components of ecological fertilisation so that our soils can be brought back to healthy state,” Aich said.

NGOs also talked about giving minimum wage to the labourers. “Green model of development should be pursued,” Swami Agnivesh from Bandhua Mukti Morcha (BMM) said. He also raised more rights to be given to adivasis in the Maoist-affected areas in the forthcoming budget.

Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), a Delhi-based NGO which works on advocacy advised the finance ministry to focus on small towns rather than on big cities in the budget for 2011-2012. “Unless we seriously invest in urban poverty alleviation, urban livelihood, urban sanitation, urban housing, our discussion on the inclusive growth is going nowhere,” Rajesh Tandon, president PRIA told Governance Now.

“The budget should be made a vehicle to measure outcomes not just allocation,” he reminded the finance minister.

The NGOs also told that Pranab Mukherjee listened to everybody but they are not sure about whether their demand will be met.  

While describing the nongovernmental sector as an important stake holder in the development process, Mukherjee said that it has been the government’s endeavour to engage this sector in policy making, to improve the delivery of public goods and services to the people.

This was the fourth meeting in the series of pre-budget consultations held by finance minister with the stakeholders of different sectors. NGOs such as PRADAN, SEWA, Ram Krishan Mission, ASHA, Care India, Jaipur Foot and Bandhua Mukti Morcha (BMM) attended the meeting.