DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa has demanded that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann immediately compensate Punjab's rice millers, who are staring at losses estimated at Rs 6000 crore due to the government's gross mismanagement of the rice procurement crisis. Bajwa condemned Mann's so-called "Plan B" for paddy milling as a "Plan Bluff," accusing the CM of attempting to mislead the public and drive a wedge between farmers and rice millers.

In a recent meeting, rice millers revealed to Bajwa that CM Mann proposed transporting Punjab's paddy to distant states like West Bengal and Kerala for milling. Bajwa lambasted the proposal as absurd, both logistically and financially. "Transporting paddy over such vast distances is economically unfeasible. Who would bear the cost of milling in those far-flung states when it's financially inviable? The nearest state capable of milling rice is Haryana, with around 1,500 shellers, and even they have no capacity to handle paddy from outside their own borders," Bajwa said.

He accused Mann of abdicating his responsibility as the elected leader of Punjab and acting more like a "Maharaja of Satauj," issuing impractical orders rather than addressing the crisis head-on. "Instead of finding solutions to the very real issues that rice millers are grappling with, Mann is attempting to intimidate them and create unnecessary rifts with farmers through irresponsible and misleading statements," Bajwa remarked.

The root of the current crisis, according to Bajwa, is Mann's reckless endorsement of the hybrid PR-126 paddy variety, which has resulted in significant losses for millers. The PR-126 variety yields only 62 kilograms of rice per quintal, in stark contrast to the 67 kilograms produced by traditional varieties. "Mann, acting as the brand ambassador for PR-126, promoted this variety without ensuring that proper yield testing was conducted. The consequences are now being borne by the millers, who are left facing enormous losses that could have been avoided with more responsible leadership," Bajwa stated.

Compounding the crisis, Bajwa said, are the Mann administration's heavy-handed tactics of forcing rice millers to store paddy without any formal agreements or assurances. This has resulted in a near-total standstill, with millers refusing to process the government-procured paddy. Consequently, 88% of the grain remains unmilled, leading to severe congestion in the mandis.

"The situation has spiraled out of control, with millers left high and dry due to the government's failure to manage the procurement chain effectively. Rather than seeking scapegoats, it is time for Mann to take full responsibility for the crisis,"

Bajwa asserted.
(editor@dailyworld.in)