Govt blinks, e-trading in mandis put off again

Pradeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 20

For the second year in a row, the BJP government has bowed to the powerful commission agents’ lobby and put off e-trading in mandis and direct payment to farmers for another year.

However, the compromise formula worked out by a delegation of arhtiyas, led by president of Haryana Arhtiyas Association Ashok Gupta and president of Haryana Vyapar Mandal Shiv Kumar Jain, at a meeting with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has a rider. The commission agents would now give an affidavit to the district authorities that they would introduce e-trading next year.

The decision was later communicated to deputy commissioners through video-conferencing by Ram Niwas, Additional Chief Secretary, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs. However, traders willing to switch to the new system have been given the option to do it this year itself.

It was also decided at the meeting that the farmers could adopt e-trading as per their wish.

Following assurance from Khattar, the traders’ bodies called off their indefinite strike from September 23 and a state-level rally in Karnal the same day.

Arhtiyas are up in arms against the new system of digital procurement and direct payment to farmers saying that it would be “impractical” and add to the problems of traders and farmers.

Last year also, the Khattar government mulled over the introduction of digital procurement but the commission agents had opposed it arguing that were not “computer literate” and required time to engage qualified staff to manage the records.

Now, decks have been cleared for procurement of paddy with official procurement season beginning October 1.