The newly sworn in Bhagwant Mann-led government in Punjab has become the target of ire after farmers whose crops were razed for the chief minister’s swearing-in ceremony were reportedly paid higher compensation than cotton farmers whose produce was damaged by pests.
While the government paid Rs 45,000 per acre to the twenty wheat farmers whose fields were cleared for Bhagwant Mann’s swearing-in ceremony in Khatkar Kalan, the cotton farmers in southern Punjab who lost their crop to a pest called pink bollworm received about one-third (Rs 17,000 per acre) of the amount.
BJP ATTACKS
Attacking the government over these ‘double standards’, BJP leader Nimisha Mehta said, “When Bhagwant Mann can pay Rs 45,000 per acre compensation to the wheat farmers for his swearing-in ceremony, then why was the same amount denied to the affected cotton farmers?”
She said the ruling Aam Aadmi Party was walking in the footsteps of its predecessor, the Congress government.
AAP DEFENDS
In response, AAP spokesperson Malwinder Singh Kang told India Today that the assessment for the damage was done by the previous government and compensation was awarded accordingly.
"Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is himself a farmer and understands the pain of the farmers. We will pay higher compensation in future,” Kang said. He added that the compensation awarded to the cotton farmers was for partial damage while the wheat farmers in Khatkar Kalan had suffered complete damage to their crop.
COTTON CROP DAMAGE
On March 26, the Bhagwant Mann government released Rs 101 crore as compensation for damage to the cotton crop in Mansa.
A crop loss assessment report said 34 per cent of the total cotton crop over an area of 7.51 lakh acres was damaged by pests last year. Bathinda district, where 2.43 lakh acres were under cotton crop cultivation, was the worst hit - an estimated 76 to 100 per cent of the cotton crop was damaged.
In Mansa district, cotton crop of 56,372 farmers over 1.52 lakh acres was damaged. The farmers were paid Rs 231 crore.
The pest also destroyed a sizeable amount of crop in Fajilka, Moga, Faridkot and Muktsar districts.
In the last one year, more than a dozen cotton farmers have reportedly died by suicide after the crop was damaged.
While releasing the compensation funds, CM Bhagwant Mann said, “It will take some time to correct the system but every guarantee will be honoured to uplift Punjab.”
Source - https://www.indiatoday.in
