‘Don’t put onus for maize purchase on Centre’
Friday, 29/08/2014
http://epaper.dailypostindia.com/Details.aspx?id=113684&boxid=60080&uid=&dat=2014-08-29
Jalandhar : Senior Congress leader and Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh on Thursday asked Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal that not to put the onus of purchasing maize from farmers on the Centre by allowing National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED) to purchase the crop.
Referring to Badal’s proposal to ask Centre to allow NAFED to purchase maize, Rana said that it amounted to running away from responsibilities. Rana said that seven state governments in India including Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Bihar were already purchasing maize from their farmers and Punjab could also do the same.
Rana lambasted Badal for either not knowing the real facts or he was simply misleading the people. “The SAD was a part of the NDA government at the centre and Badal should intervene to get funds and procure maize on his own in the state, hence working in the welfare of the farmers,” he said.
The senior Congress leader also maintained that the farmers had gone for distress sale by selling maize at as low as Rs 800 to Rs 1,000 per quintal against the MSP of Rs 1,310 per quintal. Rana added that the farmers were getting peanuts against the announced MSP for maize in the state.
He said that about one lakh metric ton maize was being produced in Punjab by the farmers at government’s instance but most of it was not procured by it, hence forcing farmers to go for distress sale.
“Instead of purchasing maize, the government was asking the Centre to allow one of its agencies to purchase maize, which was mere eyewash,” he added.
