SKM to question govt over MSP, crop loss compensation

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, August 6

Amid Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini persistently making announcements pertaining to welfare of farmers and other sections of society, the Haryana chapter of Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) is gearing up to examine the farm-related announcements in order to find out whether there is something substantial or these are just poll promises.

BJP govt on announcement spree

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The BJP government is on an announcement spree in the run-up to the Assembly elections, hence it is leaving no stone unturned to make announcements without any ground work just to mislead the farmers to grab their votes. We have decided to examine all announcements to ascertain what mechanism the government has prepared to fulfil them. — Inderjit Singh, Vice-President, All India Kisan Sabha

The HSKM has called a meeting in this regard on August 20 in Bhiwani wherein all farm leaders from across the state would not only discuss the announcements in detail but also prepare questions to be raised before the state government for getting their answers, said Inderjit Singh, a senior leader of the HSKM and vice-president of All India Kisan Sabha here on Monday, adding the meeting would also chalk out next course of action.

“The BJP government is on an announcement spree in the run-up to the Assembly elections, hence it is leaving no stone unturned to make announcements without any ground work just to mislead the farmers to grab their votes. Being representatives of the farmers, we have decided to examine all recent announcements to ascertain what mechanism the government has prepared to fulfil them,” said Singh.

He said the Saini government had recently announced to procure all crops on the minimum support price (MSP), waiving the farmers’ outstanding charges on canal water (abiana) and releasing pending compensation for the crop losses. “The abiana is already not being charged by the state government for a long time. Similarly, a large number of farmers across the state are struggling to get relief for crop losses but the government has not yet disclosed how much claims of losses have been accepted and how much funds it has allocated to pay the compensation to all affected cultivators,” said Singh. The HSKM leader claimed they had already submitted a charter of 32 demands to the government, including regressive amendments to the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 by diluting the pro-farmer clauses with an intention to facilitate the corporates but surprisingly, instead of fulfilling them, the government was making such announcements which seemed to be impractical at a time when the Assembly polls are just two months away, he pointed out.

Meanwhile, BJP state spokesman and former minister Krishan Murti Hooda said there can be no greater step for the welfare of farmers than the procurement of all their crops at the MSP and the BJP government had done it. “The CM has won the heart of farmers by taking this historical step. It is also a befitting reply to the Congress, which makes tall claims about the farmers’ welfare but does nothing on coming to power. We will reach out to farmers to apprise them of this announcement, which will prove instrumental not only in raising their income but also in promoting farming,” said Murti.