Punjab expected to procure 132 lakh metric tons wheat: Chief Secretary
Punjab is expected to procure 132 lakh metric tons wheat, out of which 17.14 lakh metric tons have already been acquired, Chief Secretary Anurag Verma said on Sunday.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday demanded time-bound compensation for the farmers whose wheat crop has been damaged by recent rains.
He said the government should also consider providing interim relief to the farmers till the actual compensation is worked out after special ‘girdawari’, which is likely to take some time.
He said the Rs 15,000 per acre compensation announced by the government was too less as the losses to farmers were quite enormous and demanded that the compensation must be at least Rs 30,000 per acre.
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The former CM said the unprecedented rains had caused devastating damage to the standing wheat crops across the state. He said, most of the farmers have been badly hit.
This, Amarinder said, will also affect the yield and eventually the income of the farmers who are already reeling under severe economic crisis. He said while the government has been claiming to have ordered a special girdawari, the ground reports suggest that no official has reached out to farmers as yet to assess their losses.
“This means that it will take more time and till then the farmers should be provided some interim relief to enable them to sow the next crop and manage day to day affairs”, he added, while urging the government to take the relief measures at war footing.
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