Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Wednesday sought personal intervention of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to compensate farmers for the loss due to untimely rain and hailstorms by providing a bonus of Rs100 per quintal over and above the MSP of wheat for the rabi marketing season of 2015-16.
In a letter to Modi, Badal apprised him that Punjab had been contributing about 30-35 percent of wheat procured for the central pool for buffer stock operations. However, the MSP for wheat has been fixed as Rs1,450 per quintal for 2015-16 marketing session, whereas the farmers were paid Rs1,400 per quintal during last year, he said.
“This marginal increase in MSP does not even cover the increase in the cost of inputs — fertilisers, diesel, labour etc — during the last one year. Based on the use of inputs in this state practicing intensive cultivation, the Government had suggested a minimum price of Rs1,900 per quintal for wheat,” he said. Badal also brought in Modi’s notice that untimely rains and hailstorm here during February and March have caused heavy damage to rabi crops in about 3.48 lakh hectares in the State.
“Heavy rains and hailstorm during this period have resulted in lodging of wheat crop and farmers have to incur extra expenditure to drain out excessive water accumulated in their fields to save their crop. Hailstorms accompanied by winds have resulted in flattening of crop which will lead to reduction in yield and as well as more harvesting cost,” pointed Badal. Badal urged the Centre to provide a bonus of Rs100 per quintal over and above MSP of wheat to compensate farmers in distress due to reduction in yield and also likely deterioration of quality of produce because of unseasonal rainfall.
Welcoming the announcement made by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley that relief amount for natural calamities would be suitably enhance, Badal requested that it should be increase to at least Rs10,000 per acre to adequately compensate the beleaguered farmers. The State had already submitted a comprehensive proposal to the Centre for providing a special package of Rs717 crore to the farmers who have suffered a loss in crop productivity in an cultivable area over 3.48 lakh hectares.