After the commencing of procurement season from April 1 in the state, Haryana Government is expecting to procure more than 80 lakh tonnes of wheat.
Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala on Friday said that procurement has started at about 500 procurement centres in the state and this time, more than 80 lakh tonnes of wheat is expected to be procured.
He said that when the farmer visits the procurement center to sell his crop, he will get a J form, then within 40 hours, the farmer will get the payment for his crop. If the farmer is not paid within 72 hours, then the government will pay nine percent interest on that amount, he said while talking to mediapersons in Gurugram district.
He said that this time, six crops are being procured at minimum support price (MSP).
Assuring farmers of the procurement of every single grain of wheat and mustard crop, the Deputy Chief Minister said that the State Government has made extensive provisions for procurement. For the first time, the government procurement agencies have started purchasing wheat and mustard from April 1.
The farmers are getting good prices in the open market for mustard and it is reported that in the open market mustard is being procured at Rs 5,200 to Rs 5,400 per quintal, he said.
Dushyant further said that the State Government intends to ensure that during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, farmers do not face any trouble while selling their crops. For this, proper arrangements have been made for procurement in the mandis.
If any irregularity is found in the procurement process then strict action will be taken against the concerned officer. The priority of the state government is to ensure that the crop brought by every verified farmer is procured as soon as he brings it to the concerned procurement centre, the Deputy Chief Minister said.
Responding to a question regarding farmers’ protest against him at Hisar a day before, Dushyant said that in a democracy, everyone has the right to protest. The government aims to ensure that every farmer gets the fair price of his crops and that too in a time-bound manner, he added.