‘Follow the system or we will not procure the crop,’ Piyush Goyal’s warning leaves Punjab govt no alternative as Amarinder caves in

After being given the stick by the central authorities, the Punjab authorities has lastly thrown within the towel and determined to implement the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme, bypassing the Arhatiyas (middlemen) to pay out the farmers for his or her crops. It is being understood that Union Food and Consumer Affairs minister Piyush Goyal, a identified exhausting taskmaster, stood his floor in a gathering with a gaggle of Punjab ministers and compelled Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh to surrender his love for Arhatiyas.“The Government of India refused to budge on the DBT issue and insisted that Punjab will have to transfer money directly to the farmers within 48 hours. Otherwise, they said, they (the Centre) will not procure from Punjab. They said that it’s their money, their food and this is the way they want it. They will not pay the arhatiyas (commission agents).” stated Punjab’s finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal.Manpreet additional added that the state authorities had “no other choice” however to implement the DBT for farmers from the present season itself and work out a brand new mechanism. “The Government of India (GoI) had asked us to implement the DBT for farmers. We had sought more time….But the GoI dismissed our demand. We tried a lot but they did not listen,” he stated.While the centre has pulled Punjab authorities on the DBT concern, it has given a breather, at the least for now, on deferring the implementation of land information integration (required to trace land possession of farmers throughout procurement) by six months.Reported final week by TFI, when centre via Piyush Goyal had politely requested Captain Singh to cede to the requests of implementing DBT — the state CM gave a chilly shoulder by internet hosting a video convention assembly with representatives of the Federation of Arhatiya Association of Punjab and pledging his fealty to them. In the assembly, the CM introduced assured the middlemen that they are going to stay an integral a part of the procurement system within the state.Read extra: Arhatiyas are the primary enemies of farmers and the albatross round Amarinder’s neck“My doors are open for you,” the CM had stated again then. However, as soon as the centre tightened the screws, Punjab needed to give in and settle for the proposal.In layman phrases, the DBT scheme ensures that farmers are paid simply the correct quantity for his or her crop and not using a single penny going in the direction of the arathiya’s who’re the scavenger hunters of your entire distribution chain.The middlemen take a hefty 2.5 per cent fee on funds, hidden prices on procurement, taking the overall revenue of round 10 per cent only for facilitating the commerce. Moreover, the arhatiyas additionally cost cash to the farmers by fooling them within the identify of the standard of grains and thru varied different strategies.Reported beforehand by TFI, with the net system, the method of funds to farmers might be hastened, and the individuals who promote their produce on MSP won’t have to attend for months on stretch for the cash.Read extra: ‘Cannot transfer payment to farmers directly,’ Punjab govt’s subservience to middlemen is the explanation for farmers’ distressThe direct switch of farmer’s pay verify is predicted to revolutionize the farming setup in Punjab which had been ruled by the archaic course of up till now. The greatest lobbying group within the farmer’s protest has abruptly been rendered ineffective, and with it, the federal government has successfully deflated your entire motion, if it had any steam left.