Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Thursday said that the norms fixed for procuring paddy have turned out to be “hindrances” for the process in the state.
“The specifications laid down by the Union Government, for paddy purchase, are creating hindrances in the smooth procurement of paddy in the state,” Badal said while talking to the media persons on the sidelines of the inauguration of the SARAS fair.
The Chief Minister said, “Union government fixes the criteria of purchasing paddy arbitrarily without ascertaining the ground realities in states, which creates problems in the entire paddy procurement.”
Paddy procurement in Punjab has been adversely affected with farmers alleging non-procurement of crop by government agencies citing higher moisture content, he said.
Talking about the forthcoming lok Sabha elections, Badal claimed that the BJP-led NDA alliance would form the next government at the Centre. He said that all the opinion polls were clearly indicating that the Congress-led UPA government had “lost ground” following its “failure” on all fronts.