Chandigarh, Apr 12 (PTI) Haryana ministers Shyam Singh Rana, Ranbir Gangwa, and Arvind Sharma on Sunday visited grain markets to review arrangements for crop procurement.
Haryana Agriculture Minister and Shyam Singh Rana and Public Works and Public Health Engineering Minister Ranbir Gangwa visited the Barwala grain market while Arvind Sharma visited the Gohana grain market.
During their visit to Barwala mandi, Rana and Gangwa reviewed arrangements for crop procurement and listened to grievances of farmers and traders.
During the visit, farmers and traders accused a HAFED (state's apex cooperative federation) employee of harassing them, an official statement said.
Taking serious note, Rana directed that the employee be suspended.
Rana also sought detailed information regarding crop arrivals and procurement, and directed officers to ensure prompt movement so that farmers do not face any inconvenience.
Regarding biometric verification of farmers, Rana said farmers can register the names of three individuals for crop sale, and any one of them can come and sell the produce in mandi.
The Minister also directed officers to improve mandi arrangements.
He added that the effective implementation of schemes such as 'Bhavantar Bharpai Yojana', 'Meri Fasal Mera Byora portal', 'Uttam portal', 'Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana', 'Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi' and the 'e-Kharid' system have ensured fair prices for farmers' produce while enhancing transparency.
Haryana Cooperation Minister Arvind Sharma, who visited the Gohana grain market, said the government is ensuring procurement of every grain of farmers' produce at the Minimum Support Price (MSP).
Sharma directed officers to ensure that farmers do not face any inconvenience at any stage, from biometric gate pass issuance to procurement and lifting of the crop.
The minister conducted a surprise inspection of the Gohana grain market and checked the weighing of wheat stocks.
He directed the market committee as well as procurement agencies, including warehousing and HAFED, to carry out the procurement process in a transparent manner and ensure that no farmer faces any difficulty.
Sharma also directed the market committee secretary, HAFED manager and warehouse manager to coordinate with the contractor agency to ensure the timely lifting of wheat.
Earlier on Friday, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini had slammed the Congress and other opposition parties for "misleading" farmers over crop procurement.
Saini had asserted that the state government has put in place comprehensive and robust arrangements to ensure a smooth, transparent, and hassle-free procurement process across all mandis.
Congress leader and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had accused the government of imposing "arbitrary" conditions on the purchase of crops.