Jalandhar April 4 : Mahila Kisan Union has demanded Rs 50,000 per acre compensation for all types of damaged Rabi crops, vegetables and fruits due to heavy rainfall, gusty winds and hail storm in the Punjab. Besides, the union has asked the prime minister to announce at least Rs 10,000 per acre relief to farmers under the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF).
In a statement the Mahila Kisan Union president Biba Rajwinder Kaur Raju advised the Bhagwant Mann led Punjab government that he should pursue with the union government to provide relaxation for standard norms of luster loss during wheat and other grains procurement as implemented in Madhya Pradesh.
She asked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led government to announce Rs 500 bonus per quintal on procurement price of all Rabi crops damaged due to severe inclement weather as the production output of Rabi crops would fall in the current season far below the standard norms of agriculture experts and institutions.
Castigating the AAP dispensation for announcing Rs 15,000 per acre compensation for 75-100 per cent crop loss as a ‘hiked’ compensation, Biba Raju reminded the artist turned chief minister that you had announced compensation of Rs 20,000 per acre for farmers in your manifesto on the lines of the Delhi government and promised to paid even before the proper ‘Girdawri’ (Official assessment survey) of damaged crops.
Revealing details woman farmer leader informed that a compensation of Rs 15,000 per acre was enhanced by the previous regimes from Rs 12,000 per acre in October 2021 but as farmers were dissatisfied, the then chief minister had in November 2021 hiked the compensation to Rs 17,000 per acre in case of 75-100% crop losses. “We have failed to understand what hike the Bhagwant Mann dispensation has implemented and backed out of its ‘guarantees’ given to the farmers”, she pointed out.
Biba Raju questioned the state government “if remote sensing or ‘geo tagging’ could trace paddy straw fires then who is stopping the AAP government to assess the damage to crops from inclement weather which were nearing the ripening stage”. She also squarely blamed the saffron party for step-motherly treatment to Punjab farmers as the Narendra Modi government has immediately provided relief measures to the poll bound MP state but completely ignored the Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh farmers in order to punish them for spearheading the historic Kisan Andolan at Delhi borders.
