Haryana CM meets Union minister, takes up farmer issues

Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini held a meeting with Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Pralhad Joshi in New Delhi today to discuss key issues concerning farmers’ interests and procurement. He requested the Central Government to allow early commencement of the upcoming procurement in Haryana, prior to the scheduled date of October 1, so that farmers can sell their produce without inconvenience. The request has been accepted.

The Centre also approved an increase in Haryana’s warehouse storage capacity to 30 lakh metric tonnes under the Private Entrepreneurs Guarantee (PEG) Scheme. The state also received an assurance for the early release of Rs 6,200 crore dues for wheat and rice procured for the Central pool.

The CM informed that Haryana currently held 100 lakh metric tonnes of wheat and rice in the Central pool. With the arrival of the next crop beginning in December, the state will receive an additional 14.5 lakh metric tonnes of storage space from the Centre. The surplus rice and wheat stocks will be sent to other states.

To promote crop diversification and support sugarcane cultivation, Saini proposed reducing the minimum distance between sugar mills from 25 km to 15 km. The proposal was approved by the Centre.

The CM also supported the pilot scheme aimed at reducing the percentage of broken rice in public distribution system (PDS) supplies from 25% to 10%. He expressed gratitude to the Central Government for increasing Haryana's target from 3.5 lakh tonnes to 8 lakh tonnes. He said Haryana would meet the target of procurement of 8 lakh metric tonnes of 10 per cent broken rice this year. The remaining 15 per cent broken rice would be sold by the Central Government within 15 days.