Sidhu’s rant towards Piyush Goyal exposes Punjab authorities’s nefarious plan to maintain Punjab’s farmers eternally poor

Navjot Singh Sidhu, the senior Congress chief who retains leaping between events and completely different camps inside Congress, has pointed fingers on the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Piyush Goyal for asking Punjab to facilitate the fee of MSP on to the farmer.Referring to the letter written by Piyush Goyal wherein he had requested the Punjab authorities to “integrate the land records of Punjab farmers (available with revenue department) with the procurement portal,” Sidhu known as the minister a ‘liar’ mentioned that 24 per cent of farming within the state is on a contract foundation, and these farmers will probably be disadvantaged of fee if there’s a system of direct fee.Moreover, Sidhu alleged that the aim behind this complete direct fee sport is to quell the farmers’ protests. However, the actual fact is that the Government of India has been making efforts to implement the direct fee of MSP to farmers throughout India since 2012, even earlier than the PM Modi-led NDA authorities got here to energy.In the previous few years, all states besides Punjab and Haryana built-in land data of the farmers with the procurement portal of the Union authorities, and it boosted direct fee. But, the Punjab authorities, as a substitute of taking steps to improve the land report, stored making excuses. In the final eight years, the successive governments led by Akali Dal and Congress couldn’t replace the land data whereas states like Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh have accomplished the duty. This reveals quite a bit in regards to the inefficiency and rampant corruption of the Punjab authorities.The Modi authorities has been reaching out to the Punjab authorities in a relentless change of letters requesting for the system to be carried out and the land data to be maintained and revealed. However, the Amarinder Singh authorities has averted this order, turning Punjab into an odd exception which is refusing pro-farmer reforms, and as a substitute it has accused the centre of pushing for the implementation of this order solely to spite ‘farmers’ who’re protesting close to Delhi.In reality, the Union Ministry had written a number of letters to the Punjab authorities to streamline their fee system with different states as early as January 2019 – when Ram Vilas Paswan was the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and the Modi authorities was in its first time period – however each time the Punjab authorities cited the rationale that it doesn’t have land data and sought exemption. The Union authorities gave exemption to the Punjab authorities throughout a number of rabi and kharif procurement seasons, and nonetheless, the state authorities stored asking for a similar.   Despite repeated reminders and requests from the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance in 2018 and 2019, the Punjab authorities gave the usual response of not having the ability to implement the system as a result of resistance from Arhtiyas and APMC Act provision for making fee by them.The complete authorities equipment, together with the ministers and bureaucrats, in Punjab, is seemingly in cahoots with Arhtiyas as a result of, out of the two.5 per cent fee that they get only for facilitating fee, everybody will get a share. The folks within the authorities equipment of Punjab push middlemen between the farmers and union authorities and don’t need the prevailing system to finish. The farmers of the state are the final within the checklist for whom the federal government equipment of Punjab is anxious.Now the Piyush Goyal-led Ministry has stopped the funds by Arhtiyas and has requested the Punjab authorities to combine the land data to the Anaj Kharid portal for the funds to proceed.“One of the apprehensions expressed by Government of Punjab is about the land which has been given on lease for tilling by absentee landlords may face title ship problem. In this case, the State Government can follow the procedure developed by the neighbouring State Haryana where the details of tenant/share cropper can be uploaded on portal with the disclaimer that this would not be a legal document for claiming ownership through tenancy. As has been emphasized time & again, it is essential to align existing system so that MSP benefits are passed on directly to farmers,” wrote Piyush Goyal in a letter (to Amarinder Singh) dated March 27, 2021.  However, as a substitute of integrating land data, Amarinder Singh wrote a letter to Prime Minister Modi on April 3 and requested for the continuation of fee by Arhtiyas. The shamelessness of the Punjab authorities, which has deployed motormouth Sidhu to rant towards the Union authorities as a substitute of finishing the duty of land data integration – which it has not been in a position to do within the final eight years as a result of inefficiency and corruption – is a significant let down for the nation and its farmers.