India, April 20 -- A major anomaly in India's agricultural policy is the heavy concentration of subsidies on wheat, rice, and sugarcane, overlooking often the growing consumer demand for fruits and vegetables. This skewed approach forces the government to bail out the sugar industry, maintain excessive grain stocks, and tolerate severe environmental damage. In Maharashtra, the overuse of water for sugarcane has led to soil salinity and groundwater depletion, sparking a decades-long debate over allocating water for sugarcane versus less water-intensive crops like pulses and millets. However, the contrasting stories of two neighboring villages in Solapur district, Chikmahud and Katphal, offer a fresh, representative perspective on this issu...