After Surjewala, Hooda alleges mismanagement in wheat procurement by Haryana govt

Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Tuesday expressed concern over alleged mismanagement of wheat procurement in the state.

The government has continued to claim that it was ready for the purchase. But when farmers brought wheat to the mandis' (markets), they were made to wait for too long. Many of these farmers had to return, he alleged.

The Leader of the Opposition also said there was an atmosphere of mistrust between the government and grain merchants or 'Arhitiyas', due to which the procurement process has been disrupted.

The government should speed up the process on the lines of Punjab by building trust with the Arhitiyas to ensure smooth procurement, the senior Congress leader said in a statement here.

 

While mustard procurement by the state agencies began on April 15, wheat procurement began on April 20.

On the first two days of procurement of wheat, government procuring agencies have procured nearly 2.84 lakh metric tones (MT) of the crop, while over 1.49 lakh MT of mustard has been procured since April 15, officials said.

On Monday, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala had alleged that there was chaos in wheat procurement centers across the state which has left the farmers in the lurch.

Meanwhile, Indian National Lok Dal leader Abhay Singh Chautala paid a visit to the mandis of Hisar, Sirsa and Fatehabad districts on Tuesday.

He said farmers and 'Arhitiyas' share good ties and if the farmers want to sell their produce to them, the government procurement agencies should not insist on direct purchase.

The INLD leader also said that the farmers should not have been asked to register details of the crops to be sold by them all over again on 'Meri Fasal Mera Byora' portal when revenue officials in their area have all the relevant details and records.

Haryana Agriculture Minister J P Dalal on Tuesday reiterated the commitment of the state government to purchase every single grain of the farmers.

He said the farmers and majority of 'Arhitiyas' were cooperating with the government keeping in mind the difficulties due to the COVID-19 situation, adding the opposition too must extend their cooperation.

Notwithstanding the claims made by the opposition, the minister said there was no capping for purchase of wheat produce and entire produce of farmers will be procured.

Hooda, however, said his party had extended full support to the government to deal with the COVID-19 situation and also requested everyone to follow all guidelines of the government, including social distancing.

The government should not add to the troubles of farmers who are already going through lot of hardships. The farmers are reaching the mandis after harvesting their crops with great difficultly, facing unseasonal rains, hailstorm and labour shortage. Massive mismanagement at the mandis is pushing the farmers into distress, he said.