Piyush Goyal lying, e-payment will hit small farmers most: Navjot Sidhu

Tribune News Service

Patiala, April 4

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu today alleged that Union Minister Piyush Goyal was a liar and if his letter to the Chief Minister urging online MSP payment was implemented, small farmers would suffer the most.

Punjab pays farmers through arhtiyas and is yet to integrate its land records with the central procurement portal. Goyal had written to CM Capt Amarinder Singh citing past exemptions the state was granted in this regard and urged urgent compliance.

Pitching farmers against arhtiyas

The move uncovers the malicious design of the central government to disrupt the state’s economy and pitch farmers and arhtiyas against each other. — Navjot Singh Sidhu, Congress leader

Addressing the media at his residence here, Sidhu said Goyal’s actions were “part of a larger conspiracy”. “This letter is a way to stall procurement of wheat crop in Punjab and destroy the state’s agricultural economy,” he said.

Sidhu said through “direct payment” to farmers for their produce and labour, Goyal was wrong when he said that the state’s Revenue Department had all information about land record of farmers in the state. “The information with the Revenue Department is about ownership holdings. As per the data collected by National Sample Survey for 2012-13, more than 24 per cent of the land under cultivation in the state is under tenancy. These tenancy contracts are oral and unwritten and mostly for one year. Those farmers who lease land through oral/unwritten tenancy contracts cannot get loans from official sources such as cooperatives, commercial banks, etc. due to non-registered land leases,” he said.

“They borrow money from arhtiyas to pay rent in advance for the crops to be cultivated, followed by purchase of seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and to bear the cultivation cost of the crops on loan from arhtiyas. This financial dependence on arhtiyas to support cultivation is widespread and not just limited to the tenancy farmers,” he said.

Sidhu called all three proposals for direct payments (Draft Electricity Amendment Bill, replacing PDS with Direct Cash Transfers and Direct Payments to Farmers) anti-farmer, against the federal structure and beneficial for corporate monopolisation of food and agriculture systems.

“This also uncovers the malicious design of the central government to disrupt the state’s economy and pitch farmers and arhtiyas against each other,” he added.