Farmers Movement Archive

Punjab: ‘Holding Rs 1,000 crore rural fund part of Centre’s plan to end MSP’

CHAND IGARH: Reacting to the Centre’s decision to put rural development fund (RDF) utilisation under scrutiny this year, the Punjab Mandi Board chairman Lal Singh claimed on Wednesday that it was the “first step towards the end of the minimum support price (MSP) regime”. “The RDF due to the state would actually be Rs 1,100 crore and the decision has come as a bolt from the blue for us. Last year, Rs 1,836 crore was the RDF collected on wheat and paddy crops. The assurances that MSP will continue even after the new farm laws are enacted is only a verbal assurance to misguide farmers,” said Singh, on reports of the Centre putting the RDF usage by the state government under scrutiny while finalising provisional rates of milled rice and gunny bags for the ongoing paddy season. “This is no precedent of the RDF being held back from the cash credit limit (issued to the state for procuring paddy and wheat each year) and there is every reason to connect the move to the apprehensions about the intentions of BJP at the Centre over the farm Acts,” he added. Deductions made by the state from the MSP and the utilisation of RDF are under scrutiny of the Union ministry of consumer affairs. The state charges 3% RDF on transactions in the grain markets during the procurement process, besides the marketing fee. The fund is used for developing infrastructure like construction of roads in the rural areas of the state. Sources in the finance department added collection of RDF had always been under the purview of state government and it had not come under the scrutiny of Centre in the past.

The Times of India

2020-10-29

Chandigarh