Labour shortage notwithstanding, wheat lifting in full swing: Chief Secy

Tribune News Service

Khanna (Ludhiana), April 26

Chief Secretary Anurag Verma on Friday claimed that the lifting of wheat procured at mandis (grain markets) was in full swing despite the seasonal labour shortage in the state.

54K MT wheat purchased so far in Khanna

In Khanna, 54,000 MT of wheat had arrived and been purchased till Thursday. Against the payment of Rs 52 crore due to be made to the farmers within 48 hours of the purchase, a sum of Rs 72 crore has already been credited to farmers’ accounts.

He was reviewing ongoing wheat procurement arrangements at the Asia’s biggest grain market at Khanna this afternoon. He directed all procurement agencies to ensure that farmers did not face any problem in the mandis.

Verma said 132 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of wheat was expected to arrive in mandis across the state during this season, of which, 66.8 LMT, which was more than half the target, had arrived in the mandis till Thursday evening. He said 60.9 LMT, which accounted for 91 per cent of the total arrival, had already been purchased.

“All efforts are being made to ensure that crop is cleaned, purchased and weighed within 24 hours of its arrival in the mandi. Once it’s done, farmers are free to leave the mandi and the payment will be credited into their accounts within 48 hours of purchase and they will get SMS in this regard,” the Chief Secretary said.

Verma divulged that as per the norms of payment, which stipulate paying the farmer within 48 hours of purchase, the payment of Rs 7,950 crore was due to be made to the farmers till Thursday, of which a sum of Rs 9,170 crore has already been made to them. “It means that in many cases, the farmers have been paid even before 48 hours,” he claimed while informing that the payment had been made to more than 4 lakh farmers so far.

The Chief Secretary also interacted with farmers. Sukhdeep Singh, a farmer from Bhamaddi village, told him that he had brought his crop to the mandi today at 7 am and his crop was purchased at 12:30 pm. Narinder Singh from Hussainpur village said he had brought his crop to the mandi at 7:30 am today and his crop was purchased at 12:40 pm itself. Most of the farmers present in the mandi had brought their crop to the grain market today only.

Verma said following the delay in harvesting, arrivals in the mandis were initially slow but have picked up suddenly, following which the entire state machinery was working day and night to ensure that the farmers did not face any problem in the markets.

Sharing the comparative lifting figures, he said peak lifting in a single day was 4.8 LMT last season while the lifting crossed this limit and was recorded at 5.5 LMT in the state on Thursday.

“Even as the seasonal shortage of migrant labourers is existing, we have pulled all stops to ensure swift lifting of the procured stocks from the mandis,” Verma asserted.

He said he was reviewing the progress of the ongoing wheat procurement with deputy commissioners via videoconferencing every alternate day.

He directed the deputy commissioners to visit the mandis daily and ensure that the ongoing lifting was further increased to 6.5 LMT per day to avoid any glut-like situation in the grain markets.

In Khanna, 54,000 MT of wheat had arrived and been purchased till Thursday. Against the payment of Rs 52 crore due to be made to the farmers within 48 hours of the purchase, a sum of Rs 72 crore has already been credited to farmers’ accounts.

Verma reiterated that the state government was committed to ensuring that the crop of the farmers was purchased in the mandis instantly and they were paid for their produce not later than 48 hours. “If any farmer faces any problem regarding purchase or payment, he may report on the government’s toll free number 1100,” he offered while assuring of immediate action on any such information given by the farmers. Director, Food and Civil Supplies, Puneet Goyal, Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney, and SSP Amneet Kondal accompanied the Chief Secretary during the visit to the grain market here.

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