Procured three times more Bajra than last year: Hry minister

Rebutting opposition charges about non-procurement of 'bajra', the Haryana government said today that it had procured three times more crop than what was purchased last year.
"The state government is conscious about the welfare of farmers and has not only procured about three times more bajra than last year but also covered more mandis. This year, bajra was procured in 14 mandis of the eight bajra producing districts in the state," minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Karan Dev Kamboj said here, on the second day of the Assembly session.
He was replying to a calling attention notice moved by three INLD MLAs including Abhay Singh Chautala and nine Congress members including Raghuvir Singh Kadiyan in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha today.

Kamboj said the state government had procured 19,056 metric tonne (MT) bajra (millet) as compared 5,968 MT last year.
"The state government has not stopped the procurement of bajra in the mandis but due to apprehension of trading in bajra by the traders, the government is verifying the quantity of bajra lying in the mandis of Jhajjar, Narnaul, Rewari, Bhiwani, Dadri, Gurugram, Mewat, Faridabad and Rohtak districts," he said.
Directions have been issued to the deputy commissioners concerned, DFSCs and district heads of all procurement agencies to immediately verify the bajra lying in the mandis, and, if it conforms to the specifications and belongs to farmers, it should be purchased immediately.

There is no distress sale of bajra in the state, Kamboj claimed.

Intervening in the debate, Parliamentary Affairs minister Ram Bilas Sharma said that procurement of bajra in Jind, Hisar, Taoru and Firozpur Jhirka would commence from October 31, 2017.
Earlier, Congress MLA Geeta Bhukkal claimed that over 75,000 quintals of bajra was lying unsold in the market in Jhajjar.
"Farmers have submitted all required documents for selling the crop to Hafed but the procurement is not being made for the past seven days," she said while claiming that farmers were forced to sell crop to private buyers at a loss of Rs 300 to 400 per quintal.