Minister for Agriculture B.C. Patil has said that punitive action would be taken against seed companies if they fail to provide compensation to farmers for supplying poor quality seeds.
Speaking to presspersons here on Sunday after holding a review meeting with officials, the Minister said that he had directed the officials to ensure that irrespective of the seed company involved, compensation should be provided to farmers, if they had incurred loss due to poor quality seeds that had failed to germinate.
Admitting that there were problems with regard to soyabean seeds in Dharwad district, he said that steps would be taken to ensure that farmers were compensated. He, however, said the district had required stock of fertilizers.
Defending the “Sunday Lockdown” decision as a necessary one, Mr. Patil said that he was, however, against a complete lockdown in the present scenario. This depended a lot on the people’s cooperation.
Mr. Patil said that while the State government was taking steps which it considered as good for the public, citizens should behave responsibly and follow the guidelines issued by the government.
The Minister defended the rates fixed for private hospitals for COVID-19 treatment and said that during this period of crisis, private hospitals should cooperate with the government in the fight against coronavirus. “However, if they don’t cooperate, then the government will be forced to take punitive steps,” he said. Earlier, during the meeting, the Minister sought details on sowing and allied activities, availability of seeds and fertilizers from the officials.
