Kiran Choudhry, Leader of the Haryana Congress Legislature Party (CLP), has blamed the BJP Government for forcing the farmers to resort to distress sale of wheat in the mandis as the five state agencies which had been entrusted with the task of procurement are playing truant.In a statement issued here today, the former Excise and Taxation Minister said, “It’s a double whammy for the farmers. First they faced heavy losses due to unseasonal rain and hailstorm and now the agencies are not coming forward to procure their grains despite specific assurance given by the Chief Minister, Mr Manohar Lal Khattar.”
She said, “The harried farmers are being subjected to harassment due to either slow lifting of wheat in the grain or refusal by the agencies to mop up wheat on one flimsy ground or the other. In Tosham, only one agency has procured wheat and heaps of grain are lying in the open, causing inconvenience to the farmers. Mostly it has not been lifted because HAFED pays after 10 days and that brings the farmers grief. A mechanism should be evolved under which farmers are made instant payment.”
She said refusal to lift stocks has left the mandis clogged with wheat, leaving little room for fresh arrivals. The scenario is pretty bad in Tosham where the farmers find no space to download their produce. At the same time, in some districts, the employees of procurement agencies have refused to buy the farmers’ produce.She warned that the farmers would be forced to come out on roads and the situation might go out of control for the state government to handle. Besides ensuring fast procurement, the state government should also ensure that the farmers are paid MSP for their produce within 24 hours, Ms Choudhry demanded.