Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday assured the arhtiyas (commission agents) of the State Government’s full support in the wake of the Centre’s latest directive ruling out any further relaxation to the State on the issue of Direct Bank Transfer (DBT) to farmers against payment for grain procurement.
“My doors are open for you,” the Chief Minister told the state’s arhtiyas during a virtual meeting, adding that Punjab Government would continue to stand with them and fight for them against the Central Government’s move to destroy the established system of making payments to farmers through them.
Arhtiyas will remain an integral part of the procurement system in Punjab, he declared, while directing the concerned Department to release the pending Rs 131 crore of the arhtiyas, due from the State Government.
The Chief Minister said that he had been seeking time from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who appeared to be busy with election campaigns in various states, for a meeting on the DBT issue. “Though I do not think the Prime Minister would give time to me, I and our Government will keep writing to the Central Government and knocking on their doors,” he asserted.
He said: “I have already written to the Prime Minister on March 19, and had personally spoken to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and the latter had assured of all help in the matter. The state Food, Civil Supplies, and Consumer Affairs Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu had also met Shah to discuss the issue, he added.
At the meeting, the Federation of Arhtiya Association of Punjab accused Haryana of betraying them by accepting the Centre’s DBT proposal while describing the neighbouring state’s Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and PM Modi as two sides of the same coin. “But we have faith in you,” they told Capt Amarinder.
Promising to do his best for the arhtiyas, the Chief Minister said that the farmers in Punjab shared long-standing and time-tested relations with arhtiyas, who were the backbone of the successful procurement system in the State.
Spokesperson said that the Chief Minister had discussed with the arhtiyas their concerns threadbare and assured them that the State Government will work out all possible options to resolve the issue and approach the Government of India with the same.
Besides continuance of the existing system of payment to farmers through them, the arhtiyas are demanding clearance of all dues from the Food Corporation of India (FCI).
They have also opposed linking of land records with farmers’ produce being brought into the mandi, pointing out that there is no provision in the existing APMC Act or Rules to allow this linkage or demand this data from the farmer.
In case it is to be implemented, it would automatically require an amendment in the APMC Rules, pointed out the arhtiyas, led by Federation president Vijay Kalra.
CM BEFOOLING ARHTIYAS, SAYS SAD
Asserting that Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh was befooling arhtiyas with “fake assurances” in the same manner in which he had deceived each and every section of society, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Thursday asked him to make public the letter he had supposedly written to the Prime Minister on the issue of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme.
“It is ridiculous that the Chief Minister is making assurances that the current DBT system, under which payment for government purchase of food grains is made to arhtiyas, would continue when his Government has given a written assurance to the Centre that the new system of direct transfer into farmer accounts would be started from the current season,” said SAD’s former MP Prem Singh Chandumajra.
Chandumajra said it had been one and a half years since the Congress Government had assured the Centre that it would implement the system proposed by it and put an end to a successful system which had stood the test of time. “The chief minister failed to meet the Food Minister or even the Prime Minister to ensure that new system was not introduced in Punjab.
Even now, he has been talking about writing to the Prime Minister in his meeting with the arhtiyas but has done nothing concrete to ensure the new system is not imposed on Punjab” he said
Asking the Chief Minister to take concrete steps to protect the rights of farmers as well as arhtiyas instead of giving “empty assurances”, Chandumajra said that procurement was set to start in a little over a week and unless the Government did not sort out all the pending issues with the Centre, it would cause untold misery to farmers of the State.