The issue of procurement of all kharif crops for 2020-21 at minimum support prices not being started in Rajasthan has been brought to the High Court, with a farmers’ body alleging that the State government has excluded two important crops, cotton and bajra, from the Price Support Scheme (PSS). A plea was also raised for establishment of permanent procurement centres at village panchayats.
In its public interest writ petition, the Kisan Welfare Society of Pali said the State government had withdrawn cotton and bajra from the ambit of PSS on October 28 despite the Centre having declared minimum support prices for the two crops in its notification issued on June 5 this year.
Petitioner’s counsel Moti Singh Rajpurohit said the crops of paddy, jowar, bajra, raagi, maize, cotton, moong, groundnut, soybean, arhar, urad and sunflower were listed by the Union government for the State for procurement on MSP. However, the State government has not established purchase centres for crops, except moong, urad and groundnut, so far.
A Division Bench at the High Court’s principal seat in Jodhpur issued notices on the petition on Wednesday to the State government, Union government and the Rajasthan State Cooperative Marketing Federation, asking them to file affidavits stating full details of the procurement of crops.
The Bench, comprising Justice Sangeet Lodha and Justice Rameshwar Vyas, asked the respondents to submit their replies in two weeks and posted the matter for further hearing on January 4.
Low prices
The Kisan Welfare Society pointed out that though the MSP of cotton and bajra had been fixed at ₹5,515 and ₹2,150 per quintal, respectively, the farmers were forced to sell these crops at much lower prices in the open market.
“There was a bumper crop of bajra, estimated at 50 lakh metric tonnes, in Rajasthan this year, but the farmers have been unable to get the MSP for their produce,” the petition stated.
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