Members of Hyderabad Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HKCCI), Grain and Seeds Merchant Association, Gulbarga Dal Millers Association, and APMC Sub-Committee on Monday called for a bandh demanding that the State government introduce Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana (price difference payment scheme) for red gram and other pulses in the State.
The protestors, including HKCCI members, dal mill owners and traders, closed down their business establishments and came on to the streets and took out a march from Nehru Gunj and Jagat Circle where they formed a human chain.
HKCCI president Amarnath Patil in a memorandum to Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy stated that Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana, which assures of paying farmers the difference between the minimum support price and the market price directly to their accounts, will help stabilise farm prices and avoid their dependence on procurement centres.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Adopting Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana will not only help farmers get assured price for their produce but will also help avoid the setting up of procurement centres to purchase produce and store them in warehouses. Along with procurement, the government can save unwanted expenditure on purchasing gunny bags and rental for warehouses to stock grain. Meanwhile, under minimum support price, payments are delayed and this can be avoided under the Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana which guarantees instant payment on the day of purchase,” Mr. Patil said, during the agitation.
Shivaraj Inginshetty, chairman of the APMC Sub-Committee, said that the purchase of produce under minimum support price directly by government procurement centres had effected business in APMC yards for the last few years.
By introducing the scheme, business at APMC markets will revert and the possible unemployment of traders, hamals and transportation workers will end, he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Revenue to APMCs by way of cess has come to an end. The annual revenue of Kalaburagi APMC yard alone was around ₹ 15 crore, which has come down to ₹ 2 crore. The Exchequer of the government has lost 80 % -90 % revenue from this sector, he said.
Last year, the government procured red gram directly from farmers at ₹ 6,000 per quintal and sold it at ₹ 3,600 a quintal after storing it in warehouses for several months, incurring a huge loss which has become a liability to the Exchequer. The Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana will help avoid the unnecessary expenditure, he said.
There are 300 dal industries in the district. Some have partly collapsed and the remaining are on the verge of collapse, Mr. Inginshetty said.
The dal mill industries in the region can breathe a new life if the State government adopts the Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana, he added.