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Chandigarh, Oct 22 (IANS) Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Wednesday accused the state government of cheating farmers, saying procurement of crops is missing, forcing farmers to sell crops below the Minimum Support Price (MSP).
The leader of opposition in the Haryana Assembly asked, “Where are the BJP government’s Bhavantar scheme and government procurement agencies? The government is continuously cheating farmers by not paying MSP for crops like paddy, millet, moong and cotton.”
He said that crops are being sold at throwaway prices, while the government and agencies are missing. “This is a betrayal of farmers. There are long queues for fertiliser. Farmers are struggling from sowing to selling their crops. The government does not have time to take care of them,” the Congress MLA said in a statement.
Hooda said that millet is being sold at Rs 1800 to 1850 per quintal in Narnaul Mandi, but not a single grain has been purchased by the government.
He said, “Not a single grain of millet was purchased even in the mandis of Nuh district. Farmers did not get even a single penny above Rs 1,700-1,800 per quintal. The situation is even worse in the mandis of Hisar. Despite the MSP of Rs 2,775 per quintal, farmers are incurring losses.”
The Congress leader said that 40,000 tonnes of moong arrived in the markets of Hisar, but the government agencies did not purchase a single grain. He said that cotton and millet are also being sold at throwaway prices in Bhiwani. “Cotton is being sold at Rs 6,500-7,200 per quintal, while the MSP is Rs 8,100 per quintal. Due to lack of government procurement, only millers are buying, causing complete loss to farmers,” he said.
Hooda questioned the claims of government agencies that the crop does not meet the standards, hence it is not being procured. “What standards is the government talking about? If the standards were right when the seeds were sold, how did they go wrong at the time of harvest?” He asked question.
“Had the farmer grown the millet crop at home? If the seeds were defective, why did the farmer suffer loss? Was any action taken against those selling the defective seeds? Were the defective seeds sold all over Haryana? Where were the BJP government and its representatives when the seeds were being sold? All these are just excuses for not purchasing the crop under the guise of the government.”
–IANS
VG/UK