Cooperatives Minister Vishwas Sarang informed the state assembly on Tuesday that the farmers would get payment of the onions they sold to state government in a week.
Sarang’s reply on opposition’s call attention motion over Onion purchase compelled the opposition to thank government for its decision to purchase Onion.
Congress legislators Jaivardhan Singh and Ramnivas Rawat brought the call attention motion over state government’s decision to purchase Onion from farmers.
Sarang in his reply informed the house that the onion purchased from the farmers at higher rate is being sold to general public at cheaper price. “I think Singh and Rawat should not have objection over this decision of government instead they should be thankful to the government for making cheaper onion available to the people,” Sarang said in the house.
Sarang further said that in a one of its kind decision in the country the pro farmer chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan decided to purchase the onions from farmers at the rate of Rs 6 per kg when the farmers were selling it at the rate of 60 paisa to one rupee per kg due to excess yield. Today, the very same onion that was purchased at the rate of Rs 6 per kg from farmers is being sold to the consumer at the rate of Rs 4 per kg, thus taking care of the interest of both – the seller and the consumer, he added.
The minister informed the house that during the past couple of days only 7,000 quintal of onions has been sold and in next week payment of all the purchased onions would be made to the farmers. Plans are on with the horticulture department to construct warehouses in that subsidy would be given. This warehouse would be utilized to store over yielded things till they could fetch reasonable price, he added.