Chandigarh, Oct 24 (IANS) Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Pargat Singh on Saturday visited the grain market in Kukkar Pind village in Jalandhar to assess the status of paddy procurement and lifting. During the visit, he levelled allegations against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, accusing it of a scam of approximately Rs 4,000 crore in paddy procurement.
He alleged that the government had entered into a purported deal of Rs 200 per gunny bag involving rice millers and private agencies. He said the government’s failure to undertake timely and effective planning had left farmers struggling in the mandis.
After listening to farmers’ grievances, Pargat Singh contacted officials of the Food and Supplies Department over the phone and reprimanded them over delays in procurement and lifting.
He said there was a significant gap between the government’s claims and the ground reality. Despite paddy arriving at the mandis, adequate arrangements for procurement and lifting had not been made, leaving farmers to bear the consequences.
In a statement, Pargat Singh alleged that instead of ensuring an organised and efficient lifting process, the government had awarded a contract to a favoured rice mill, creating scope for arbitrary practices.
He questioned why the government had chosen to rely on a single agency when adequate arrangements were needed for both procurement and lifting.
He expressed concern that such arrangements could lead to confrontations between farmers and commission agents, while farmers were being unnecessarily harassed in their efforts to sell their produce.
Responding to questions about the reported suspension of paddy procurement, Pargat Singh said Punjab had a procurement target of approximately 18 million metric tons.
He questioned how the government could justify telling farmers that procurement was being stopped when the target had not yet been achieved.
He said the situation exposed the government’s failure and lack of foresight in planning. He demanded immediate and effective measures to ensure the timely procurement of farmers’ produce and its prompt lifting from the mandis.
–IANS
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