Hooda demands early start of government paddy procurement

Chandigarh: Former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda has demanded that the government should start procurement of paddy soon. He said a large quantity of paddy has started arriving in the mandis of the agri-markets from September 15, but farmers are forced to sell their crops to private agencies below MSP because government procurement has not yet started.

"Due to frequent rains, there is also a danger of crops kept in the market getting wet. Instead of making arrangements in the market, notices are being sent to the Arhtiyas on behalf of the market committee to harass the farmers. If a farmer brings crops to the market, then the mandi fees will be collected from the Arhtiyas," he said.

The former Chief Minister said that there is confusion over the government's policy on the issue. "Sometimes the coalition government talks about starting the procurement from September 25, sometimes it will say that the procurement will start from October 1. The longer the delay in starting the procurement, the greater the suffering of the farmer," he said.

Hooda also opposed the decision to reduce the standard moisture content in paddy from 17 to 16 and said the government should increase the moisture content instead of reducing it. He said farmers are getting hit twice over because of delayed procurement and moisture content.

"Farmers complain that normally it took 120 to 125 days to prepare paddy from conventional seed. But, since the last few years, a large number of farmers are using hybrid seeds, so their crop is ready in 85 to 90 days. Farmers have also started bringing the crop to the market as soon as it is ready because most of the farmers do not have storage facilities. Meanwhile, due to government delay and chaos in the market, farmers are forced to sell paddy at a rate of Rs 200-250 less than the MSP," he said.

Hooda said that the government should compensate the farmers who have sold their crops at a price less than the MSP. Also, the farmers who have grown an alternative crop instead of paddy this time should immediately pay the incentive amount of Rs 7,000 per acre, as promised to the government and most of the farmers have not received the amount the government had announced earlier.

"Crops have been damaged on a large scale in many areas of the state due to waterlogging in the past. So far they have not even got their Girdawari done by the government. Therefore, the government should give proper compensation to the farmers by getting the Girdawari done at the earliest," he added.