Mustard growers in Haryana await payment for procured crop

The government is procuring mustard (40 quintals maximum from a farmer in one go) at ₹4,425 per quintal minimum support price across 165 centres in the state.

Even as Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar had claimed that mustard growers will be paid within 72 hours of procurement of their produce, many of them in Bhiwani, Dadri, Mahendergarh and other parts of the state have been awaiting the payment for their crop since April 29.

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The government is procuring mustard (40 quintals maximum from a farmer in one go) at ₹4,425 per quintal minimum support price across 165 centres in the state.

Mohit Kumar, a farmer from Dadri’s Jitpura village, said he had sold 32 quintals of mustard last week at ₹4,425 per quintal. However, the government has not transferred any money into his account so far.

“I urgently need ₹30,000 to release payment for harvesting and threshing to labourers. The government’s claim of providing procurement amount within 72 hours has fallen flat,” Kumar said.

Another farmer Gurmukh Singh of Bhiwani’s Garwa village said he is waiting for the payment for his mustard produce since April 29.

“I visited the bank twice to ask whether the government has transferred the payment in my account. Amid the Coronavirus scare, we (farmers) are the only ones who sold their produce without taking any money in advance. Except us, everyone is selling their products by taking the money first. The government should release our payment at the earliest so that we can buy fertilisers for cotton crop,” Singh said.

Arhitiyas worried over slow lifting of crop

Meanwhile, the Arhitiyas in the state have alleged that the slow lifting of mustard and inadequate arrangements for the same has increased their worries.

Sushil Kumar, a commission agent in Bhiwani’s Behal said they had loaded a truck with mustard on Tuesday and it is still standing outside a government godown, which is hardly 1.5km from the mandi.

“Due to poor arrangements, the truck drivers have to wait in queue for four to five days for their turn to unload mustard crop at government godowns,” Kumar said.

A market committee official, on condition of anonymity, said procurement agencies— the Haryana State Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation Limited (HAFED) and Haryana State Warehousing Corporation (HSWC) have made payment to mustard growers who had sold their produce till April 28 and April 23 respectively.

Bhiwani deputy commissioner Ajay Kumar said he has issued instructions to clear the payment of mustard procurement in the district. “I have discussed this issue with concerned officials, who assured me of sorting out payment of farmers at the earliest,” the DC said.