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Rice millers who sign contract before Oct 10 to get incentives
Shellers were protesting over the milling policy as they fear losses; will stand by genuine millers, says Ashu
The Punjab food and civil supplies department has employed the divide and rule policy to persuade rice millers to end their protest.
The department on Tuesday announced incentives and priority allotment of paddy to the millers who sign the agreement before October 10.
Food and civil supplies director Anindita Mitra visited the Rajpura Grain Market after the millers refused to sign contracts and provide space for storing paddy. She was successful in starting the lifting process by persuading millers to process paddy.
Meanwhile, food and civil supplies minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu dubbed the rice millers’ protest as a politically-motivated gimmick. He said in a statement that people with vested interests had become pawns of the Shiromani Akali Dal.
Reiterating the state government’s commitment to ensure hassle-free procurement, Ashu said the government stands by all genuine millers. He said all those who apply within the stipulated time will be suitably rewarded with an increased quantum of allotment.
Punjab rice miller association president Tarsem Saini has given a call to boycott the procurement process alleging that the present milling policy was against the interest of millers and bound to cause losses.
Mitra said, “Around 100 millers in Patiala have signed a contract with agencies. There are nearly 450 rice mills in Patiala, and the state government needs only 200 to complete its paddy procurement.”
“We only need around 2,000 mills to produce rice, while the state has 4,100 mills. Around 1,645 millers have already approached the department while 1,335 have signed contracts.”
She said the state was expecting 170 lakh metric tonnes of paddy, of which 1.68 lakh metric tonnes had been purchased.
Meanwhile, Mitra found that commission agents in Rajpura had procured 5 lakh bags of paddy before the procurement process started. “I have sought an explanation from the mandi board. We will procure paddy only if it meets our specifications,” she said.
