BJP Pressured on MSP Demand, Farmer Income not Doubled: Chaudhary Chandr Kumar
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Himachal Pradesh Becomes the First State to Provide MSP for Milk
Shimla: Agriculture Minister Chaudhary Chandr Kumar has stated that for the past ten years, the central government led by the BJP has been running a government of empty promises. He mentioned that while the BJP had promised to double the income of farmers, this promise has turned out to be nothing but rhetoric. Instead of doubling the income of farmers, the BJP has tried to suppress the voices of farmers demanding a law guaranteeing minimum support prices (MSP) and has resorted to forcefully crushing the protests, resulting in the deaths of more than 50 farmers.
Chaudhary Chandr Kumar stated that the current state government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhoo, is actively working with sensitivity to increase the income of farmers. The state government has increased the minimum support price for cow’s milk to Rs. 45, marking a historic increase of Rs. 13, while the purchase price of buffalo’s milk has been increased to Rs. 55 per liter. Himachal Pradesh has become the first state to provide minimum support price for milk procurement. Additionally, the daily wage under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has been increased to Rs. 60, and the minimum support price for wheat produced through organic farming has been set at Rs. 40 and for maize at Rs. 30. He further mentioned that to increase the income of dairy farmers, the state government is establishing a dairy processing plant with a capacity of 1.5 lakh liters per day in Dhagwar of Kangra district, which can be expanded to a capacity of up to 3 lakh liters per day. This plant will be fully automated, and an amount of more than Rs. 226 crore will be spent on it.
Regarding the issue of stray cattle, the state government has increased the grant for sheltering stray cows in private cow shelters from Rs. 700 to Rs. 1200. Chaudhary Chandr Kumar stated that the state government is continuously making efforts to strengthen the rural economy, as only by making villages self-reliant can the state be made self-reliant. He emphasized that these efforts of the current state government are a symbol of its determination to encourage agriculture as self-employment and to continuously strive to increase the income of farmers by integrating agriculture with modern technology. He concluded by saying that all these efforts of the current state government will prove to be milestones in the direction of increasing the income of farmers and strengthening the rural economy.
