In a relief to farmers facing crop loss due to untimely rains, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal today said that shrivelled and broken grain of wheat would be procured without any value cut.
This value cut would also not be applied on the wheat already been procured, he said assuring farmers that every grain which is the result of their "blood and sweat" would be procured.
While reviewing the procurement arrangement with concerned agencies, the Chief Minister directed them to ensure smooth and continuous procurement and stated no laxity in this regard would be tolerated.
The Chief Minister also added that he had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding waiving value cut on shrivelled and broken grain of wheat.
He further stated that the matter had been taken up with Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan who has also endorsed the request made by the Haryana government.
"The interest of farmer is the top most priority of our government. Even if the Central Government does not concede to our demand, the state government would bear the cost and not the farmers. The wheat will be procured at the Minimum Support Price of Rs 1450 per quintal," he said.
Wheat with more than 50 per cent lustre loss has been arriving in few mandis of Palwal, Mewat, Sonipat and Jind.
Khattar stated he had also spoken to Paswan earlier in the day and urged him to allow procurement of such lustre loss wheat and as a result, teams to collect samples have been sent to these mandis, he added.
The Chief Minister has appealed to the farmers to bring wheat to the mandis after properly drying it up.
He also stated that duties have been assigned to senior officers of the rank of Additional Chief Secretaries and Principal Secretaries to personally supervise procurement arrangements by visiting mandis so that every grain of the farmers is procured.
