Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday wrote to the Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan, seeking immediate withdrawal of the “unjustified” heavy value cut on farmers in lieu of relaxation in norms due to luster loss and shriveled grain of wheat.
It may be recalled that the Chief Minister had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 28, seeking a review of this decision, to safeguard the interests of state farmers in these difficult times.
Seeking Paswan’s prompt intervention to re-examine the issue of value cut in its entirety to protect the farmers’ income, the Chief Minister termed the imposition of a value cut on the earnings of the farmers for reasons beyond their control as unjustified.
Capt Amarinder apprised the Union Minister about two important issues raised by the State Government during course of discussion with him – firstly, the relaxation in wheat procurement norms for shriveled grain or lustre loss, and secondly, the release of administrative and arhtiya charges, which had been acceded by the Union Ministry.
Thanking Paswan for his Ministry’s approval to release 90 percent of the withheld charges, the Chief Minister, however, said that he was concerned that issue of relaxation in norms for wheat without value cut had not been addressed so far.
Capt Amarinder said that, in fact, he had received a communiqué from the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution on April 28, wherein heavy value cuts have been imposed in lieu of relaxation of norms of lustre loss and shrivelled grain.
“These cuts are completely unreasonable since there were unseasonal rains in the State in March, and the farmers were unable to take preventive measures for saving the wheat crop as a result of lockdown across the country,” he said.