Farmers face payment woes as 60% bought crop yet to be lifted from Gurugram mandis

Sumedha Sharma

Advertisement

Gurugram, April 12

Over 25,000 farmers in Gurugram district have been left harried as 60 per cent of the purchased crop is yet to be lifted from mandis. The growers get paid only after their crop is lifted from the grain markets.

No profit this year

We are not big landlords and need money immediately to prepare for the next crop and pay last year’s loans. There has been no profit this year, due to hailstorms. We brought our crop to the mandi in time and sold it off, but are yet to be paid as the crop has not been lifted by the authorities.— Mohar Singh, farmer

Farmers claimed that while the purchase had been done days ago, they were still awaiting payments, which were yet to be initiated. The worst-affected among the three mandis of Gurugram is Pataudi Mandi, which caters to 30,000 farmers.

Following repeated complaints, Gurugram DC Nishant Yadav visited Pataudi, Farukhnagar and Hailey mandis and instructed HAFED and Haryana Warehouse Corporation to clear the backlog within the next two days, failing which the contractors would be blacklisted.

“Around 70 per cent of the mustard brought to Pataudi has already been procured, but 60 per cent of the grain is still lying there and has not been lifted. A farmer is paid within two days after lifting and we are getting many complaints. We conducted an on-spot inspection and have spoken to the departments concerned to clear backlog during the weekend. We have issued a strict warning to contractors that if this is not done by Monday, the administration will recommend their blacklisting,” Yadav said.

Speaking to The Tribune, Mohar Singh, a farmer, said delay in payment was increasing their woes as they had suffered huge losses in wheat crop due to the recent hailstorm. “Our wheat has been destroyed. We are not big landlords and need money immediately to prepare for next crop and pay last year’s loans. There has been no profit this year, owing to the damage. We brought our crop to the mandi in time and sold it off, but are yet to be paid as the crop has not been lifted by the government,” he added.

DC Yadav instructed Pataudi SDM Hoshiar Singh to ensure that a report on mustard and wheat lifting in both markets is sent to the DC office by Sunday evening. The DC accepted a demand of the trade board and ordered the closure of the purchase of mustard and wheat in Farukhnagar mandi on the coming Monday and Tuesday. Instructions were given to suspend the roster process and set up an open market.

Yadav also told the officers concerned that farmers should not face any kind of problem with issues like getting gate passes, gunny bags or weighing the crops. Officers should also inspect the mandis and take stock of procurement arrangements on the spot and resolve issues, the DC said.