T V JayanPoornima Joshi – The Hindu BusinessLine

The Punjab federal government has procured 84.fifteen lakh tonnes (lt) of wheat for the duration of the ongoing rabi marketing year and has remitted ₹10,085 crore into farmers’ accounts immediately via on the web payment for the order.

“Till Sunday, we have transferred ₹10,085 crore to farmers via direct lender transfer,” Punjab Principal Secretary K A P Sinha told BusinessLine. The Condition designs to procure a complete of one hundred thirty lt of wheat from Punjab’s farmers this year, he claimed.

The direct on the web payment is substantial as it comes amidst the ongoing protests by farmers of Punjab and Haryana versus the new farm legal guidelines handed by the Centre in September very last yr. The direct payment is viewed as a transfer to sideline arthiyas (fee agents) in the two States, who are alleged to be powering these protests.

Obligatory DBT

This rabi year onwards, the Centre has built it obligatory for States to make direct lender transfers to farmers for the foodgrain procured from them by the Meals Company of India. The foodgrains procured at the minimum assist price tag fastened by the Centre are employed for the general public distribution procedure as effectively as other welfare strategies, these kinds of as the Pradhan Manti Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana revived in the aftermath of the Covid next wave.

The Punjab federal government experienced opposed the direct payment to farmers but fell in line following the Centre claimed it would not give the Condition any much more exemption.

Nevertheless Punjab was among the the very last established of States to start off procurement operations, it has procured much more than Haryana and Madhya Pradesh. Punjab, which has a complete of 1,872 mandis, has doubled the selection of procurement centres this time due to Covid-19 safeguards.

Until Sunday, the FCI and the Condition procurement businesses procured 222.33 lt of wheat when compared with 77.fifty seven lt in the exact period of time of the previous rabi marketing year, which was originally marred by the Covid-relevant lockdown. Of this, Punjab accounted for shut to a third, when Haryana contributed seventy one.seventy six lt and Madhya Pradesh fifty one.fifty seven lt. Procurement commenced in Madhya Pradesh on March fifteen and in Haryana on April 1.

Sinha claimed electronic transfer of payment has been occurring in Punjab before as well, but the Condition federal government employed to transfer the money to arthiyas, who would then transfer to their consumer-farmers’ electronically. Arthiyas built the transfer following deducting the farmers’ dues to them. The challenge right before the federal government was to sign up all the farmers in a quick period of time of time, he claimed.

Although Sinha claimed Punjab has paid out ₹10,085 crore to its farmers, as per the accounts out there with the Ministry of Customer Affairs, Meals and Public Distribution, the payment built is all-around ₹8,180 crore. A release by the Ministry claimed the complete value of procured grains would be all-around ₹43,192 crore and 21.seventy four lakh farmers across the place have benefited from the obtaining so considerably. Farmers in Haryana, on the other hand, experienced obtained ₹4,668 crore till Sunday.

In the meantime, All India Kisan Sabha Punjab state Secretary Key Singh Punnawal, who is among the the leaders powering farmers’ protest, claimed the harvest is a product of the hard work of the farmers and to make certain procurement, they experienced to guide a selection of protests.

“There was not a one week that handed with no any protests considering the fact that this federal government assumed electrical power at the Centre. Be it procurement, be it availability of fertilisers, be it raising price tag of diesel and electrical power, farmers experienced to increase their voice. This yr as well, the manufacturing was completed following collective work by farmers. Villagers served in the harvest and other activities of protesting farmers in Delhi. However, procurement is not entire. We are receiving a selection of grievances about delay in payment,” Punnawal claimed.