AMARINDER WRITES TO PM FOR INCREASING MSP OF PADDY

CHANDIGARH : Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to consider fixing a Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 2,902 per quintal for paddy and Rs 100 per quintal to be given as incentive bonus to check stubble burning. The CM has cited challenges faced due to labour shortage and the need for ensuring food security in view of the covid-19 pandemic.

In his letter to the PM, the CM said that the state had already written to the Union agriculture ministry seeking the new MSP, as calculated by Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, against last year’s MSP of Rs 1,835 per quintal.

“Given the need to ensure food safety in the time of the present pandemic, it is imperative that farmers may be given the appropriate price signal by announcing a remunerative MSP for paddy,” Amarinder’s letter says, adding, “It is unlikely that we will see much seasonal labour coming from UP and Bihar for paddy transplantation due to covid.”

The CM expressed concern at the serious challenges this could pose for farming operations in the paddy season, besides leading to escalation in labour costs. He also underscored the importance of providing farmers a non-burning bonus at the rate of Rs 100 per quintal to meet their expenses in handling of paddy straw, thus preventing its burning.

In this context, he also pointed to Supreme Court directions, asking the Centre and the states to work out an incentive structure to check paddy stubble burning.