The agrarian crisis in Punjab has worsened. Just about two days before the beginning of the wheat procurement process, the Centre on Thursday turned down Punjab’s plea to retain the age-old system of making payment to the farmers through the arhtiyas.
The only thing the State Government apparently gained out of the meeting between its delegation comprising three Ministers and the Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal was keeping in abeyance for six months the submission of land records.
Faced with the situation, the State Government has now decided to go ahead with the process of making direct online payment to the farmers, while chalking out safeguards for the arthiyas (commission agents). For the way out from the impasse, the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh is scheduled to meet the arhtiyas on Friday (April 9).
Notably, the farmers and the arhtiyas in Punjab have been opposing the Centre’s guidelines to the Food Corporation of India to transfer minimum support price (MSP) directly into the bank accounts of farmers. In fact, Punjab’s Arhtiya Association has also threatened to boycott the wheat procurement process — beginning April 10 (Saturday).
Punjab Government, led by the Chief Minister, is backing the arhtiyas with Capt Amarinder reiterating his full support for the farmers and the arhtiyas. Capt Amarinder had, in fact, flayed the BJP-led Central Government for encroaching upon the state’s rights to dominate them, and forcibly imposing farm laws and the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) on the state’s farming community.
On Thursday, the State Government delegation — including Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Education and PWD Minister Vijay Inder Singla, Punjab Mandi Board chairman Lal Singh, and Principal Secretary (Food and Civil Supplies) KAP Sinha — met the Union Minister Piyush Goyal to discuss the issue of direct bank transfer of MSP.
During the meeting that lasted for nearly two hours, Goyal rejected Punjab’s demand for another exemption from the DBT underling that already 15 procuring states had started DBT payments to the farmers.
The Union Minister made it clear to the State that there was no possibility to given “further exemption” as Punjab had already got three exemptions earlier.
Goyal categorically told the Punjab delegation during the meeting that the Centre would make procurements and reimburse related costs only if the State makes direct payment to the farmers and not through arhtiyas. At the same time, the Union Minister has asked the Government to make its own arrangements for procurement of crops in case it wanted to pay the farmers through the arhtiyas.
Left with no choice, the Punjab Government has now decided to go ahead with the direct benefit transfer to the framers, while proposing to make some arrangements or chalk out safeguards for the arhtiyas.
Meanwhile, the Centre has agreed to grant Punjab a six month extension to link land records to the national e-procurement portal.
“The Centre has declined the demand of Punjab Government regarding DBT scheme for wheat procurement,” said Punjab Food and Civil Supplies Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, adding that the Centre, however, has agreed to postpone the decision of online land record, to make payments to farmers, for six months.
Ashu added a meeting with arhtiyas would be held on April 9 amid present context to explore the new mechanism on these issues. He said the Group of Ministers held detailed discussions with the Union Minister regarding wheat procurement in a congenial manner. “Besides the issue of DBT and online land records, “detailed deliberations were held on Rural Development Fund, early release of funds to Punjab under various schemes by the Government of India and lifting of its food grains stock by the Centre from Punjab”.
“Punjab has urged the Union Minister to release the remaining amount under Rural Development Fund
ARHTIYAS UP IN ARMS
The Federation of Arhatiya Association president Vijay Kalra said that they have put forth all issues before the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh , including payment to farmers through arhtiyas as against direct payment of MSP to farmers as proposed by the Centre through the FCI; otherwise they would boycott the procurement process. Besides, the arhtiyas have also demanded payment of Rs 131 crore pending since 2019, exemption to farmers on producing land records, among others.
Capt Amarinder has time and again stressed that the Centre should not try to disturb the native ecosystem of Punjab’s agrarian economy by forcing any such rules. Assuring the State Government’s full support on the DBT issue to the arhtiyas, Capt Amarinder has asserted 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.
The BJP-led Central Government’s move came at a time when the farmers are agitating against the new farm laws, and the saffron party had alleged that the farmers’ agitation was orchestrated by the arhtiyas. However, some of the farmers’ leaders, who have been spearheading the ongoing agitation, Dr Darshan Pal, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, had supported the direct payment to the farmers but questioned the timing of the Centre’s move.