Badal Sends Detailed Proposal To Goi For Seeking Hike In Msp Of Kharif Crops For 2014-15

Demands MSP Of Rs.1890 For Paddy Instead Of Rs.1310 Per Quintal

5 Dariya News

Chandigarh 23-Dec-2013

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today cleared the state’s proposal asking the GoI to make upward revision in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of various crops for Kharif 2014-15 over the corresponding MSP during 2013-14.Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office said that the State agriculture department forwarded a detailed proposal to the Commission for Agriculture Costs & Prices (CACP) for seeking hike in the MSP of the Common Variety of Paddy from Rs.1310 in 2013-14 to Rs.1800 per quintal in 2014-15.  Likewise, the agriculture department also sought an upward revision in the MSP of Paddy grade ‘A’ variety from Rs.1345 to Rs.1890 per quintal. 

The spokesperson further said that the Chief Minister demanded the MSP of Maize to be hiked from Rs.1310 to Rs.1815 per quintal and Cotton from Rs.3700-4000 to Rs.5300 per quintal in the proposal forwarded to CACP.  Similarly, the proposal stipulated an increase in the MSP of Moong from Rs.4500 to Rs.6100 per quintal, Maha and Arhar from Rs.4300 to Rs.5900 and Rs.5800 respectively.  Apart from this, the Chief Minister also envisaged an increase in the MSP of Groundnut from Rs.4000 to Rs.5200 per quintal. Mr. Badal categorically said that the hike in the MSP of above mentioned crops during the Kharif 2014-15 was necessitated to boost the crop persification plan especially for the promotion of crops like maize, cotton, moong, maha, arhar and groundnut in the state.  This move would not only benefit the state’s peasantry substantially but also help the state to arrest the trend of declining ground water.  It may be recalled that the state government under its ambitious agriculture persification program had already planned to reduce the area under paddy cultivation from 28 lakh hectares to 12 lakh hectares over a period of five years.