Rs 1,300 MSP for maize too low: Rana Gurjeet
Tuesday, 01/07/2014
http://epaper.dailypostindia.com/Details.aspx?id=109298&boxid=58354&uid=&dat=2014-07-01
Jalandhar: Punjab Congress leader and former Jalandhar MP Rana Gurjeet on Monday criticised the BJP led Centre government for Rs 1,300 Minimum Support Price (MSP) and said that it was too less an amount for the farmers output.
Rana said that the pro-farmer SAD-BJP government was never serious about crop diversification in the state which could eventually provide lot of relief to the farmers. “The Rs 1,300 MSP was too little and less,” he said.
In a press release Rana said, the way the Government of India, of which the Akalis were integral part had fixed the MSP for maize at Rs 1300 per quintal while the MSP of ‘charri’ (fodder) was fixed at Rs 1700 per quintal. “Such a move reflected the non-seriousness of Akali government in encouraging the maize farming,” he added.
He said that the farmers were not able to sell maize for more than Rs 1,000 per quintal. “Last year they got Rs 1,300 to Rs 1,500 per quintal, this year they were not able to sell it even for about Rs 1,000 per quintal that too when the MSP for maize had been fixed at Rs 1,300 per quintal,” he added. Rana suggested that the SAD-BJP government should debit the balance amount to the centre government, which should have no problem in crediting it back to the state government as the MSP was guaranteed by the central government only. “Even the state agriculture minister had demanded Rs 1,800 MSP for maize. Now, that the BJP led Centre government was ruling the nation, the SAD-BJP should not have any problem in getting a higher MSP fixed,” he said.
