Haryana govt. has failed to compensate farmers for their loss, alleges Hooda 

Former Chief Minister and leader of Opposition in Haryana Assembly Bhupinder Singh Hooda alleged that wheat procurement was moving at a tardy pace across the State

Former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition in the Haryana Assembly Bhupinder Singh Hooda on April 12 alleged that wheat procurement was moving at a tardy pace across the State, and the ruling BJP-JJP government had failed to adequately compensate farmers for their crop loss due to inclement weather.

Mr. Hooda said he recently visited market yards and spoke to farmers, laborers and traders, and everyone had expressed concern over the tardy purchase and lifting of the wheat crop.

“In many places, the work of procurement in ‘mandis’ (market) and the ‘Meri Fasal, Mera Byora’ portal has stopped. In fact, in every crop season, the portal stops working at the time of need... In view of the adverse weather conditions, the farmers should be given more relaxation in the limit of broken grains, small grains, moisture and luster loss, but the government ordered price cuts in wheat with exemptions, this is excessive with the farmers who are already facing huge losses,” said Mr. Hooda, addressing a press conference here.

He said the Haryana government must bear the value cut itself and the farmer should get the full rate of his crop. The Centre government has announced a relaxation in the uniform specifications of wheat procurement in view of luster loss or shrivelled and broken grains on account of inclement weather.

“However, the government has also imposed a value cut in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of wheat having shrivelled and broken grains above specified limits, which is not justified,” he added.

Mr. Hooda demanded compensation from ₹25,000 to ₹50,000 per acre, in view of the loss to the farmers. “Along with this, a bonus of ₹500 per quintal should also be given to farmers,” he said.

He said along with the farmers, traders were also angry with the policies of the BJP-JJP government. “Their (traders) commission has also been reduced from ₹53 to ₹46 per quintal. During the COVID period, the government had promised payment with interest on late payments. Even till date, payment of crores of rupees has not been made to the traders. Similarly, the government had promised to give interest to farmers on late payment but no such payment has so far been made,” alleged Mr. Hooda.