Leader of Opposition in Chhattisgarh assembly and BJP leader Dharam Lal Kaushik alleged that under administrative pressure farmers from across the state were forced to fill a consent form to reduce their area of paddy cropping recorded during registration.
Thus a large section of farmers a denied the right to sell paddy to tune of 30 lakh MT covering an area of 2 lakh acre of crop land.
Kaushik said Congress-led state government lacks clear cut policy for paddy procurement at minimum support price from farmers. This is the reason the farmers have been at the receiving end, he alleged. Due to reduction in cropping area of paddy, around 30 lakh Metric Tonne of paddy could not be procured at minimum support price, he claimed.
He further added that state government should provide a clear cut reply on it and take conducive steps to ensure procurement of paddy from such affected farmers.
The BJP leader said during the tenure of his party’s government in the state, till final dates the farmers could sell the produce with ease but now the way hindrances were created by Congress led government, farmers are in agitated mood.
He alleged the state government is crushing the agitations of farmers protesting against the procurement policy of the state government.
He demanded that the state government should procure paddy from all the farmers, even those having filed the consent letter in form of affidavit showing less paddy cropping area.