Pesticide row: Jakhar flays ‘anti-farmer’ policies of CM
Saturday, 26/09/2015
http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Tribune/
Abohar : Leader of Opposition Sunil Jakhar today issued a “charge sheet” targeting Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his colleagues for adopting “anti-farmer” policies.
Flaying Badal’s statement that cotton growing farmers in the Malwa region had suffered due to natural calamity, Jakhar said the CM was trying to save “corrupt” Agricultural Department officials and his “erring” cabinet colleagues.
Through the “public charge sheet”, as Jakhar put it, he has asked the government to explain why the Bayer Crop Sciences company was asked not to sell the “Oberon” pesticide below the price of Rs 3,500 per litre in the open market. Why the pesticide was bought in bulk to kill whitefly without calling tenders, he questions. If the Director, Agriculture Department was authorised to place an order for the pesticides worth Rs 10 lakh only, who allowed him to place orders for buying stacks worth Rs 33 crore, it was the prerogative of the Agriculture Minister or the Chief Minister only, he states. When the Punjab Agriculture University had recommended the pesticide manufactured by Markfed to prevent cotton crop from the whitefly attack, why the government ignored its own cooperative giant and placed orders with Bayer Crop Sciences which was marketing the products of Swastika Company. When the Markfed pesticide was to cost Rs 258 per acre, why the Agriculture Department purchased Oberon that cost about Rs 700 acre each.
