Government abets distress sales
By Gobind Thukral
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 12 — Hapless paddy growers are resorting to distress sale of their crop in the mandis of Punjab. Reports suggest that in many mandis of the state much of the paddy is being either directly purchased by the millers from farms or from mandis. The government has admitted that 51 per cent of the total arrival till yesterday was purchased by the millers and the rest by six government agencies. But it is silent about the out of mandi purchases where millers or their agents pay less than the procurement rate and also avoid mandi taxes.

Paddy growers are in for a dual shock. First their crop was damaged by untimely rains and later when the matured crop was harvested and brought to the mandis or temporary purchase centres, they found the government agencies playing second fiddle to millers. "It is left to the sheller owners to mark the paddy heaps for purchase. The rest have to wait for days to sell their stocks", most farmers complained. Mr Jaspal Singh, a commission agent of Khanna, a prime market, admitted that the government agencies are apathetic this time, leaving the way free for the millers.

The modus operandi of millers, is that some of the stock is purchased at the minimum support price of Rs 440 per quintal for ordinary variety and Rs 470 for A grade paddy. For the rest, farmers are told that moisture content is high or the paddy is discoloured. While sometime this is in fact correct in many cases this is just pretext for forcing down the price. A farmer in distress has little choice but to accept the lower price. This ranges from Rs 350 to Rs 400 per quintal. At times, this very paddy is then sold again to government agencies at the minimum support price, leaving a substantive profit in the hands of agents, officials and millers. One commission agent said that the millers had never had it so good.

The Union Government has exempted millers from its levy on rice for the purchases made till October 10. This is also one reason behind their active entry this time around. Also, the levy rice rate of Rs 838 per quintal for raw rice and Rs 840 per quintal for par boiled rice has worked an as additional impetus. But with the miller active and agencies remaining grower is the loser. These very millers were initially on strike forcing the government agencies to look for storage elsewhere and in the process blocking agency purchases.

In many mandis like that of Amloh, Nabha, Sirhind, Khumano and Khanna, farmers have been waiting for days on end. And the picture is worse in temporary purchase centres where there is a woeful lack of amenities. In centres like Burj Paut, Panj Garian, Hedo Bet, Kum Kalan and Balliawal, the farmers mostly sold their best crop their for between Rs 380 to Rs 400.

Local Akali leaders have been pressing their ministers hard for intervention and some have even approached the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal on the issue. But, despite this, his instructions that the ministers , MLAs and senior officers man purchase centres has been observed more as a ritual.

In fact, the government today admitted that the prevailing rate of paddy is between Rs 300 to Rs 600 per quintal. It did not mention the mandi wise rate nor as to how much had been sold at what rate. The food department had purchased just 7.6 per cent, Markfed 14.9 per cent, PUNSUP, 15 per cent, warehousing Corporation another 15 per cent, Punjab Agro another 2.9 per cent add up to 48.9 per cent in all leaving 51.1 per cent to the millers. Thus the government's commitment to purchase at least sixty per cent of the total arrivals and also to ensure proper rate and no out of the mandi purchases has been a glaring failure, and hence the anger of the growers.

Denying reports regarding distress sale of paddy, Mr P. Ram, Secretary, Punjab Food and Supplies Department, said at a press conference today that so far 41.50 lakh tonnes of paddy had been procured in the state.

He said that paddy output in the state would not cross 100 lakh tonnes, though the earlier estimates were of 120 lakh tonnes. About 25 per cent of the paddy crop had been damaged in the state due to hostile weather in the last week of September.

The paddy damaged by rain had not been procured by the government agencies, he added. Private rice millers were encouraged to procure such paddy and they were exempted from levy rice on the purchase of paddy made by them till October 10, he added.