M A I N   N E W S

Punjab to strive for hike in MSP
Paddy procurement begins
Tribune Reporters

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh launches procurement operations of paddy at Khanna Mandi on Tuesday.

Reacting to the charges of the CPI leader, Mr Joginder Dayal who said the state government had not done enough to plead the case of farmers with the Centre, the Chief Minister remarked, “Little knowledge is a dangerous thing”. He regretted that a leader belonging to the CPI was speaking the language of Mr Badal.

While evading a direct reply to a question whether the alliance between the Congress and the CPI was over, particularly after Mr Dayal’s outbursts, Capt Amarinder Singh said the issue would be discussed at the party forum and it was too early to comment anything. The Chief Minister also dismissed today’s all-party meeting as a non-event, pointing out that it had been deliberately called today as the government had called a similar meeting tomorrow.

FAZILKA: Dr Mohinder Kumar Rinwa, MLA, Fazilka, and Parliamentary Secretary, Punjab, on Tuesday formally opened procurement of paddy in the local grain market. He was accompanied by Mr D.K. Tiwari, Deputy Commissioner, Ferozepore. Later, at a press conference, Dr Rinwa said in Ferozepore district so far 33,19,518 quintals of paddy had arrived of which rice millers and traders had purchased 16,77,593 quintals.

He sought compensation for farmers who had sold their paddy at a price lower than the MSP fixed by the Union Government. To a question on payment to sugarcane growers, Dr Rinwa said the Union Government had not released Rs 480 crore for the purpose.

Dr Rinwa blamed the Centre for dilly-dallying on the issue as a result of which levy sugar worth Rs 48 crore in the state could be damaged. He sought sale of this sugar in the open market. The Parliamentary Secretary demanded from the Union Government Rs 80 as daily wages to unemployed labourers of the border belt who have been rendered without work due to laying of landmines in the border areas.

FARIDKOT: The procurement of paddy began at all 54 purchasing centres, including four grain markets at Faridkot, Jaitu, Kotkapura and Sadiq simultaneously in this district on Tuesday. Inaugurating the process at the local mandi, Mr A. Venu Prasad, Deputy Commissioner, said the FCI, Punsup, Markfed and the Warehousing Corporation will focus their attention here, the FCI and Punsup at Jaitu, Food and Supply, the Warehousing Corporation, Punsup, the Punjab Agro and Markfed at Kotkapura whereas the work will be taken up by Markfed and the FCI at Sadiq. The purchase would start from 9 a.m. and will continue till 6 p.m. at all centres.

The DC assured the growers that they would get their payments after 72 hours of the purchase. However, he sought their cooperation with regard to not harvesting the crop with combines from 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. till November 16.

The DC claimed at least 40,000 metric tonnes of the produce had been purchased on the inaugural day, of which 30,000 metric tonnes had already been purchased till 3 p.m. at all centres. He expressed hope that the entire process will be completed in the next 10 days.

NAWANSHAHR: Chaudhary Santokh Singh, Welfare and Social Security Ministry, on Tuesday opened procurement of paddy at Mukandpur, about 20 km from here. While addressing the gathering of farmers he accused the BJP-led coalition government at the Centre and former CM, Punjab, Mr Parkash Singh Badal of politicising the issue of MSP just to embarrass the Congress government in the state.

The minister, however, assured the farmers hassle-free procurement of their produce. He asked the officials of different procurement agencies to ensure smooth lifting and prompt payment of paddy.

FATEHGARH SAHIB: By announcing a so-called assistance of Rs 20, the Central government has played a cruel joke on the farmers and the state government, said Dr Harbans Lal, State Minister for Food and Civil Supply, while addressing the farmers after inaugurating the procurement of paddy at Asia’s second largest grain market in Sirhind on Tuesday. He said the state government had started the procurement of paddy with full swing and the government is committed to purchase every grain of the farmers at the MSP and the fleecing of the farmers won’t be allowed in the mandis.

Mr Vikas Paratap, Deputy Commissioner, said that daily a meeting of all procurement agencies would be held in his office to take stock of the procurement and that as per new specifications only 17 per cent moisture paddy would be purchased. He said that 75 per cent of the payment would be made to the farmers within 24 hours and the rest would be ensured at the earliest.

FATEHABAD: Procurement of paddy began here on Tuesday afternoon amidst allegations of rejection on flimsy grounds by the procurement agencies. The process began with the state procurement agency HAFED kicking it off in the presence of the Deputy Commissioner, Dr R.B. Langyaan.

While the farmers, whose paddy had been selected by the agency for procurement, were satisfied with the agencies, some others, whose crop was rejected, alleged that the officials had been adopting a partisan attitude. Mr Ramji Lal, a farmer from Chapla Mori village, alleged that the authorities rejected his paddy on the pretext that it was moist. Another farmer, Mr Prem Kumar, from Dhani Issar village said his paddy was lying in the grain market in the open for the last eight days and there was no question of it being moist. But the authorities not only rejected his paddy but also did not assign any reason for rejection. Mr H.R. Kataria, Purchase Inspector of HAFED, when contacted, said they had rejected the crop due to various reasons like excess of moisture contents, immature crop or unclean crop.

The procurement agencies, meanwhile, were expecting the arrival of 2 lakh metric tons of paddy in the district this year. Last year, the arrival was 3 lakh metric tons, said Mr I.D. Khan, District Foods and Supplies Controller, Of the total 40 grain markets and purchase centres in the district, procurement of paddy was being made at 31. Three government agencies, namely the HAFED, the Food and Supplies and the Haryana Agro Industries were assigned the job of procurement of paddy in Fatehabad. The HAFED would procure paddy on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, the Food and Supplies on Mondays and Wednesdays while the Haryana Agro Industries would make procurements on Saturdays.

BATHINDA: The Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Fiscal Reforms and Finance, Punjab, Mr Surinder Singla, on Tuesday inaugurated the official purchase of paddy in various mandis of the district. Mr Singla also facilitated the procurement of paddy by ordering a new centre to be set up at Chumba village after farmers apprised him that there was no purchase centre in their village. He assured the farmers that there would be no delay in procurement of their produce.

PHILLAUR: Punjab Social Welfare Minister Santokh Singh inaugurated paddy procurement in the Mukandpur and Phillaur grain mandis on Tuesday. He instructed the purchase agencies to protect the interests of the farmers.

Later, talking with newsmen at Phillaur, Mr Santokh Singh alleged that the BJP-led Union Government could not protect the interests of the farmers and described the bonus announced by the government as a mere “Eye Wash”.

LUDHIANA: Mr Gurcharan Singh Galib, Member Parliament inaugurated purchase of paddy in the new grain market here on Tuesday, Mr Gurmit Singh, SDM, other commission agents, and various officials of the procurement agencies were also present there.

The SDM said that section 144 Cr PC has been invoked as per the instructions of the District Magistrate and there should be no harvesting with combines from 7 pm to 8 am.

ROPAR: Mr Ramesh Dutt Sharma, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, opened procurement of paddy in the new grain market on Tuesday. The minister said despite financial constraints, the government would give a relief of Rs 30 per quintal on last year’s procured paddy to farmers before March 31 next to fulfil its election manifesto. He further alleged that the Union Government was playing politics even in the procurement of paddy while on one hand the government had announced a drought relief of Rs 20 per quintal for the farmers on the other hand it had hiked the prices diesel and petrol.

Meanwhile, criticising the Union Government for not announcing the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy in time, Mr Jagmohan Singh Kang, Minister for Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development, Punjab, today asked the Central Government to make arrangements for paying a relief of Rs 20 per quintal on the MSP of paddy to those paddy growers who had sold their produce till September 30 to the private traders and rice mill owners. Mr Kang said this while opening the paddy procurement in the grain markets of Chamkaur Sahib, Kurali and Morinda on Tuesday.

MOGA: The farmers in the district resented the attitude of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) towards paddy procurement process here on Tuesday. The FCI officials entered the market but refused to buy the stock saying that they would buy only fine quality. On hearing this the farmers refused to sell their stocks. There were heated exchanges between the farmers and the officials and the later fled away to avoid any complication.

AMRITSAR: Large stocks of paddy which had been lying in the 103 mandis of the district for the past one weak was lifted by the government agencies on Tuesday.

The Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, had asked Excise and Taxation Minister Mr Sardul Singh and Irrigation Minister Mr Gurchet Singh Bhullar to visit various mandis in the district and personally supervise the procurement process.

The Minister for State for Industry and Tourism Mr Ashwani Sekhri, also inaugurated the procurement at Batala.

However, there were reports of distress sales in half a dozen mandis as commission agents were not giving the minimum support price to the farmers as the government had delayed the procurement.

JALANDHAR: The official purchase of paddy by various government agencies to began in Jalandhar and surrounding areas on Tuesday.

Mr Jagjit Singh, Punjab Local Bodies Minister said the official purchase of the crop should have ideally started from September 21, but it got delayed on account of the failure on the part of the Central Government to announce the MSP in time.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Revenue Minister, Mr Amarjit Samra, who inaugurated the purchase of paddy at Nakodar said various mandis in Punjab were expected to receive about 115 lakh tonnes of paddy this year, even as the state government had made arrangements for the procurement of 120 lakh tonnes.

Punjab Ministers Santokh Singh Chaudhary and Mohinder Singh Kaypee inaugurated the purchase at the Phillaur and Partapura mandis respectively while Mr Gurbinder Singh Atwal, the Parliamentary Secretary, inaugurated the procurement process at Mehatpur Mandi in Jalandhar district.