Each grain of crop will be procured: CM

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 27

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar directed officials to make arrangements to ensure hassle-free procurement of mustard starting April 15 and wheat from April 20, so farmers did not face trouble in selling crops in mandis. He was presiding over a review meeting on arrangements for the procurement season with officials today.

He said keeping in mind that procurement of mustard and wheat was only five days apart, there was a possibility both crops were procured together and in order to accommodate them, separate procurement centres apart from the existing mandis were required to be built. For this, the sheds of Radha Soami Dera Satsang buildings would be used.

This year, the minimum support price for mustard has been fixed at Rs 4,425 per quintal and Rs 1,925 per quintal for wheat. Khattar said the government was committed to purchase each and every grain of crop produced. He said this time, the actual bid for crops in the mandis would be assessed from the headquarters at Chandigarh.

He said the procurement of the crops would be done by issuing coupons after collecting data registered on the ‘Meri Fasal Mera Byora’ portal by the farmers. In addition to its prescribed mustard quota, HAFED could also procure mustard for NAFED.

Meanwhile, PK Das, Additional Chief Secretary, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, in a communication, urged the Central Government to incentivise farmers for staggered and delayed procurement. The procurement of wheat, which was scheduled to begin on April 1, is now scheduled to begin on April 20.

In view of the delayed procurement of wheat due to the ongoing lockdown, the state government has urged the Central Government’s to provide incentive ranging from Rs 50 to Rs 125 per quintal to the farmers.

The communication proposed that while the wheat procured from April 20 to May 5 should be procured at the MSP of Rs 1,925, wheat procured from May 6 to May 31 should be at Rs 1,975, after adding an incentive of Rs 50. Similarly, the wheat procured between June 1 and 30 should be procured at the MSP of Rs 2,050, including incentive of Rs 125.