The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government has listed MSP on moong crop, boosting direct sowing of paddy, increasing sugarcane price Rs 20 per quintal, and a satisfactory dip in stubble burning incidents in 2022 among its major “pro-farmer decisions” for the welfare of the farming community in its nine-month tenure.
Apart from that, the State Government also claimed to have released Rs 31.70 crore to the kin of as many as 634 farmers — that is Rs five lakh to each family — who were “martyred” during the year-long farmers’ agitation against the Centre’s now repealed farm laws; besides providing government jobs to their 326 family members.
“The State Government has, so far, released an amount of Rs 31.70 crore to the kin of 634 farmers who were martyred during the farmers’ agitation. Similarly, as many as 326 family members of the said farmers have been provided government jobs in various departments. The verification process for giving jobs to 98 members is completed whereas the process for government jobs to 210 others is underway,” said the state Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Mr. Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Thursday, sharing the AAP Government’s performance at the end of the year.
The Minister said that the State Government had also fixed the Minimum Support Price of Rs 7,275 per quintal of moong crop under which Rs 61.85 crore had also been transferred directly to the bank accounts of 15,737 farmers. “This initiative was taken to boost the crop diversification which received an excellent response,” he added.
The Government has increased the sugarcane price by adding Rs 20 besides releasing Rs 492 crore to cooperative and private sugar mills so that the payments to be given to the sugarcane growers.
Dhaliwal further said that the State Government is making concerted efforts to manage the straw waste. “As a result of the government's efforts, the number of farm fires has reduced to 49,922 in 2022 from 71,304 in 2021, which is about 30 percent less,” he added.