The Cabinet on Friday authorised Deputy Commissioners to declare new mandis in their respective districts to ensure social distancing during wheat procurement.
These will be in addition to the 3,800 mandis already notified this year, said an official after a video-conference of ministers.The Cabinet took stock of the preparations for harvesting and procurement of wheat, scheduled to begin on April 15. It was decided that the procurement arrangements should be finalised and notified by April 11 so that every grain was procured in a staggered manner.
The state has already decided to extend procurement till June 15 and sought incentives from the Centre for delayed transportation to mandis by farmers in view of the Covid outbreak. The Centre is yet to respond to the state’s demand.
The Cabinet noted that the standard operating procedure (SOP) on procurement of wheat should be widely circulated and publicised so that all protocols, including provision of sanitisers and handwashing arrangements, could be strictly complied with. DGP Dinkar Gupta has been asked to come out with a comprehensive security plan for the mandis.
The Cabinet was informed that while 73 percent of the state’s requirement for gunny bales had been met, the remaining (7.2 lakh bales) would be met with PP bags if the West Bengal government did not start production on time. As of now, West Bengal has only resumed transportation of 27,000 bales.
ACS (Development) Vishwajit Khanna said rules had been amended to make payments to farmers through arhtiyas instead of direct bank transfer that was to be introduced this year. Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had earlier suggested change in order to maintain continuity and stability in these difficult times.
The Mandi Board has already extended the validity of licences of arhtiyas, which were to expire on March 31, till the wheat procurement is over. They will be paid within 48 hours of procurement and required to pay farmers in the next 48 hours.The ACS told the Cabinet that 3,718 purchase centres set up in the state included 153 main yards, 283 sub yards, 1,430 purchase centres and rice mills.
Khanna said the Centre had fixed the MSP of wheat at Rs 1,925 per quintal for the current RMS. A farmer will be entitled to take multiple coupons each day or on different days, depending on space in order to avoid rush in the mandis. About 27 lakh coupons will be issued. Farmers will be allowed to bring one trolley having 50 quintals of wheat.
This news has not been edited by Apni Kheti staff but has been published by various news feeds
Source: Tribune India
