Badal seeks hike in MSP of Rabi crops

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today asked the Union Government to make upward revision in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of various crops for Rabi 2014-15 over the corresponding MSP during 2013-14.
The state agriculture department forwarded a detailed proposal to the Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP) for seeking hike in the MSP of the Wheat from Rs 1,400 in 2013-14 to Rs 1,900 per quintal in 2014-15, an official spokesperson said here.
Likewise, the agriculture department also sought an upward revision in the MSP of Barley from Rs 1,100 to Rs 1,517 per quintal.
The spokesperson further said that the Chief Minister demanded the MSP of Grams to be hiked from Rs 3,100 to Rs 3,627 per quintal and that of Rapeseed and Mustard from Rs 3,050 to Rs 3,484 per quintal in the proposal forwarded to CACP.

The Chief Minister categorically said that the hike in the MSP of above mentioned crops during the Rabi 2014-15 was necessitated to boost the crop diversification plan especially for the promotion of crops like barley, grams, rapeseed and mustard in the state.
This move would not only benefit the state's peasantry substantially but also help the state to arrest the trend of declining ground water.
The state government under its ambitious agriculture diversification programme had already planned to reduce the area under paddy cultivation from 28 lakh hectares to 12 lakh hectares over a period of five years.