Centre’s Ravneet Bittu Blames Punjab for Wheat Procurement Failure

The Centre says cash, storage bags and rail capacity were ready to move the crop.

Overview

Ravneet Singh Bittu, who spoke Monday, accused the AAP-led state of not buying wheat on time in the peak season.
He said the Centre approved a Rs 30,973 crore cash credit limit, a loan line the state uses to pay farmers at procurement.
He added that 4.88 lakh bales of gunny bags were allotted with permission to source more on the GeM portal.
He said quality norms were relaxed so farmers would not lose money on grain that falls just short of specs.
He reported 275 grain rakes moved out of Punjab through April 26 to open storage space, and he blamed power cuts for farmers sleeping in mandis.