Chandigarh, November 10
Kumari Selja, Sirsa Member of Parliament, Former Union Cabinet Minister, General Secretary of All India Congress Committee, Congress in-charge of Uttarakhand and member of the Congress Working Committee, has expressed concern over the decline in government paddy procurement in Haryana and questioned the agricultural policies of the BJP government.
Selja alleged that the government was busy with portals, announcements and publicity, while farmers continued to struggle for basic facilities such as irrigation water, electricity, crop procurement and timely payments. She said the published figures showed that the state had set a paddy procurement target of 58 lakh metric tonnes, but approximately 44.93 lakh metric tonnes had been procured so far. Describing the decline compared with previous years as worrying, she said the government should clarify the extent to which weather conditions, irrigation facilities, electricity supply and procurement arrangements had contributed to the situation.
Selja said farmers in several areas were not receiving adequate canal water or electricity according to their requirements. Registration, verification and technical glitches on the portal were also creating difficulties for farmers in mandis. The government, she said, should simplify the digital system so that technical problems did not obstruct farmers’ rights.
Selja said delays in payments after paddy procurement affected farmers’ financial condition. Timely payments were essential for the next sowing season and for meeting expenses on fertilisers, seeds and other agricultural requirements. She demanded an impartial review of the reasons behind the decline in paddy production and government procurement. The remaining paddy in mandis should be procured, pending payments released immediately, and complaints concerning canal water and electricity resolved on priority. She said farmers’ welfare would not be ensured through government announcements alone, but through adequate water, regular electricity, fair prices and timely payments. The government, she added, should focus on practical solutions rather than publicity.
