Will procure every single grain of farmers: Haryana Deputy CM

Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala on Wednesday junked Opposition allegations of mismanagement in the wheat procurement, saying the process was on track and they will procure every single grain of farmers.

In an attack on the state government, the Congress had alleged on Tuesday that an atmosphere of mistrust was prevailing between the government and arhtiyas (commission agents) due to which the procurement process has been disrupted.

Responding to the allegations, Chautala said a smooth procurement of wheat and mustard had remained a challenge before the government but several decisions taken in the farmers' interest ensured that things were on track.

Till Tuesday, nearly 2.84 lakh metric tonne of the wheat and over 1.49 lakh MT of mustard has been procured, said the JJP leader, whose party is the BJP's coalition partner in Haryana.

We will procure every single grain of farmers even if the process carries on for a bit longer, he added.

Attacking the opposition party, he claimed claiming that while on an average Haryana was procuring 1.5 lakh MT of wheat per day, the Congress-ruled Punjab had procured just 42,200 MT of wheat in first two days.

On a strike by arhitiyas, Chautala, who also holds the charge of the Food and Civil Supplies Department, said they had objected to the opening of new bank accounts after which government had allowed them to operate their old ones.

He said the government has told them that it will deposit the money into their old accounts after which they must clear the payment to farmers within two days.

Chautala said to avoid crowding at grain markets in view of the coronavirus pandemic, the number of procurement centres has been increased to ensure social distancing.

Farmers are being sent SMS and called in batches to the grain markets to sell their produce to avoid overcrowding.

He said 13 lakh masks have been provided to farmers by self-help groups through the Marketing Board.

Chautala, who holds the Industries and Commerce and Excise departments, also said the government has received 4,350 applications seeking permission to run industrial units falling outside containment zones in the past three days.

Different committees have been formed to facilitate permissions while ensuring that all guidelines, including social distancing, are followed, he said.

He added that all permissions are being given in a phased manner so that the industry is back to life and all measures related to the lockdown are followed.

Speaking on incident of bootlegging, the minister said so far the excise and police departments have seized 1.60 lakh liquor bottles in 442 raids.

Around 1,200 FIRs have been lodged till now, he said.

He ruled out the opening of liquor vends at least till May 3.