Punjab, Haryana urge centre to hike wheat MSP For 2013-14 season

The decision was held back by the Union Cabinet for a lack of decision among ministries

Days after the union cabinet held back the decision on hiking minimum support of wheat for the 2013-14 crop marketing season, leaders of two of India’s biggest wheat producing states, Punjab and Haryana demanded that government should raise the  MSP of wheat to compensate for the sharp increase in input costs mainly that of fertilizer and diesel.

Punjab’s deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal went a step further and lambasted the central government for discouraging Punjab farmers to grow wheat which could create a global crisis. He said the indecisiveness of the Central government is crushing farmers in Punjab.

Punjab along with Haryana, produce more than 80 per cent of the total wheat grown in the country. Both the states are also major contributors of the grain to the central pool.

"I am shocked. If by chance, production of wheat goes down because Punjab farmers are discouraged from producing wheat; there will be crisis of wheat in the world. Punjab meets 60 per cent of the total wheat requirement of the country," Badal told reporters on the sidelines of a CII conference on investment in North India.

Bhupinder Singh Hooda meanwhile said that he has written to the union agriculture ministry to raise the MSP of wheat because of rising cost of fertilizer.

The union cabinet in a its meeting held earlier this week, held back any decision on raising the MSP of wheat for 2013-14 season because of lack of consensus among different ministries. Officials said the cabinet members wanted more discussion on the matter before making a taking a final call.

Officials said the union food ministry in favour of a freeze on MSP of wheat because of rising food subsidy bill, but agriculture ministry wants a 9-10 per cent increase because of increase in input costs.

The Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP), the government's nodal agency to determine the prices of farm products had for the first time in almost 10 years recommended freezing the MSP of wheat in 2013-14 at Rs 1,285 per quintal.

 "They (government of India) want to control Punjab farmers from the top and let the cost go down. They want farmers to be crushed," Badal said.

On the bottleneck in making Punjab power surplus by 2013, the deputy chief minister said that Central government had assured 80 per cent fuel linkage which is unfair as companies have made huge investments in power in the state, but they don't have assured fuel supply.

"I feel the biggest problem with Government of India, is indecisiveness. Government of India should reduce bottlenecks, red tapism and only then can India progress," Badal said.