Former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda has hit out the ruling BJP-JJP government in Haryana of tardy lifting and sluggish procurement of wheat crop across the State.
Mr. Hooda said tall claims of the government about smooth procurement process have fallen flat and farmers were suffering adversely.
The former Chief Minister, who has been hospitalised due to COVID, said he has been receiving complaints from all over the State that procurement has not been timely, lifting was being delayed and several farmers have not yet received payments for their crops.
“Besides government apathy, bad weather has increased farmers’ troubles as wheat in large numbers is lying under the open sky in the ‘mandis’ (markets) due to tardy lifting as the ready-to-lift scheme launched by the government has failed completely. The government claimed that under this scheme, the contractor would have to lift the wheat from the mandi within 48 hours but heaps of wheat in the mandis are themselves testifying to the complete failure of the plan,” the former Chief Minister said.
Mr. Hooda said rain in the region has damaged the wheat crop.
“The government should compensate the farmer for the loss caused by wheat getting wet in the rain and till then, tarpaulins should be provided in the mandis,” he said.
‘Shortage of bags’
Mr. Hooda alleged that there is a shortage of gunny bags in the markets and farmers are not even able to find a place to keep grains in the ‘mandis,’ which is delaying the purchasing process.
