Fatehgarh Sahib : It has been a month since Manpreet Singh of Dudhal village sold his paddy in the nearby Khanna grain market. The commission agent told him that his produce was worth Rs10 lakh. But exactly a month after his paddy was sold, he is yet to get any money.
Manpreet is one of the many farmers in the state who are yet to be paid for their paddy crop.
What has been a double whammy for farmers like him is the fact that while the dues for his paddy have not been released, the small amount of basmati they produced is not getting them immediate money from traders/millers because of demonetisation.
The paddy procurement season is almost over. But the state government is yet to release over Rs12,000 crore to the farmers whose produce has been bought.
From October 27 till date, no money has been released by the state procurement agencies.
To date, almost 164.5 lakh metric tonnes of paddy have been procured in the state — creating a record of sorts. The cost of this purchase by the five state procurement agencies — Markfed, Punjab State Warehousing Corporation, Pungrain, Punjab Agro Industries Corporation and Punjab State Civil Supplies Corporation — is around Rs25,162 crore.
But inquiries made by The Tribune reveal that so far, only Rs14,000 crore has been paid to the farmers. The reason for the unpaid dues is that some banks are yet to release the money to the state government.
Though most banks (from among a 65-bank consortium that give money to the state government) have released the money, some banks — whose previous dues had not been settled — decided to withhold the fresh release of funds.
Official sources in the state Food Department told The Tribune that the RBI had approved a cash credit limit of Rs23,480 crore before the procurement season began. But only Rs13,000 crore could be utilised in October, following which the limit given by the RBI expired. The state government not only sought a fresh extension to its cash credit limit, but also sought an enhancement in the limit to Rs31,000 crore.
“However now, things have eased. Beginning tomorrow, we will start clearing dues with the Rs1,100 crore being released tomorrow and a similar amount being released on Monday. By the end of the month, all dues will be settled,” said a top functionary in the Department of Food and Supplies.
Congress to make it poll plank
New Delhi : The Punjab Congress will intensify its campaign against non-payment to farmers against procurement of paddy. It will raise the matter in election rallies. Former state Environment Minister Hansraj Josh said here today the payment to several farmers was pending for more than one-and-a-half months. The procurement commenced in the first week of September and ended before the second week of the month. “The plight of the agrarian community, which is already reeling under hardships, has been compounded because government agencies have not paid farmers on account of cash crunch,” Josh said. As per norms, government agencies procure 75 per cent of paddy which amounts to about Rs 25,000 crore. “Only Rs 11,000 crore has been disbursed to farmers,” the former minister said. Paddy is grown over 70 per cent of land in several districts, including Abohar and Fazilka. “The neglect of farmers considered country’s food bowl is astonishing,” Josh said. He flayed AAP for trying to create a space for itself in the state through divisive politics. “The Congress is gaining ground by the day. The party will bounce back in the elections,” Josh added.