Haryana Food and Supplies Minister, Ram Bilas Sharma called on the Union Minister of Food and Public Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan, in New Delhi on Wednesday to place the demands regarding relaxing wheat procurement of the State. Paswan assured Sharma that he would send a written communication to Prime Minister, Narendra Modi in this regard. “The Central Government is farmer-friendly and would take decisions in favour of the farmers,” he said.
Sharma urged Paswan that value cut should not be done in the relaxation given by the Central Government. The percentage of quantity of less damaged grains should be increased to six per cent from four per cent without value cut. Also, the percentage of quantity of shrivelled and broken grains be increased from six per cent to ten per cent, instead of nine per cent without value cut.
Similarly, Sharma demanded that the percentage of quantity of damaged grains be increased from two per cent to three per cent without value cut. The lustre-lost wheat containing above ten per cent and up to 50 per cent affected kernels, be purchased without any value cut, and the mandatory excess grain being procured by the Food Corporation of India be waived off.
He told Paswan that almost the entire stock of wheat had been affected by the rains and the effect on luster was clearly visible. There has been an increase in the percentage of quantity of the damaged, broken and shriveled grains besides luster-lost grains. The farmers are expecting bonus also, he added.