Battered badly by the natural calamities and relentless rains, Himachal Pradesh바카라s apple industry worth around Rs 5,500 crore has hit a big roadblock just ahead of the peak of the harvest season.
The Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Himachal Pradesh government has stood by its decision to sell apples by weight, not by boxes. It has been a demand of the cultivators for a long time. The government has given two-day ultimatum to protesting arhatiyas.
Battered badly by the natural calamities and relentless rains, Himachal Pradesh바카라s apple industry worth around Rs 5,500 crore has hit a big roadblock just ahead of the peak of the harvest season.
After the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Himachal government ordered apples to be sold 바카라by weight바카라 as against the years-old practice of being sold 바카라by box바카라, the influential 바카라arhatiyas바카라 바카라commission agents바카라 have come out in vehement opposition of the order. The resultant tussle, which comes at a time when apples have already started arriving in the market, has turned Himachal바카라s prime product into a bitter 바카라apple of discord바카라 between the orchardists and arhatiyas.
The arhatiyas 바카라commission agents or middlemen바카라 form a powerful lobby. Traditionally, arhatiyas charge commission and facilitate selling of the produce. Now, after the Sukhu government바카라s order, the arhatiyas want to bulldoze the government order. They have shut their shops and have asked apple-producers to take their produce back to orchards or let it rot in transport vehicles in front of the wholesale markets in Shimla. This has resulted in huge panic in the Himachal바카라s apple-growing belt.
Despite the arhatiyas바카라 opposition, Himachal Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi has stood by the government decision and has refused to get cowed down to the threats of the arhatiya lobby.
바카라The government stands by April 6, 2023 notification issued under the HP Agriculture and Horticulture Produce Marketing (Development and Regulations) Act, 2005, under which the commission agents and traders are bound to sell apples and alike fruits 바카라by weight바카라 in all the markets. The weight of the cartons shall not exceed 24 kgs in any case,바카라 said Negi on Saturday.
The sellers 바카라apple producers바카라 coming to the wholesale markets are also required to indicate the weight of the apple on the carton/box with a permanent marker. The notification reads: 바카라It shall be mandatory to weigh the sample box(s) in each market. The commission agents shall arrange the weighing machine for this purpose.바카라
After the fuss created by the arhatiyas, who refused to adhere to provisions and went on strike, Negi threatened to invoke penalty clauses if they defied any provisions of law at the market yards.
Negi said, 바카라We are going to open all the markets to outside commission agents and cancel the licences of those wilfully defying the government orders or any of the legal provisions of Act.바카라
During the Himachal assembly elections, Congress had promised in its manifesto that the government would ensure that the farmers should decide the price of the produce to stop their exploitation by the commission agents.
바카라We welcomed the decision of the government to sell apples in markets by weight, not by boxes. As the government has not been able to enforce universal cartons 바카라fixed weight packing of 20-24 kg바카라 the boxes coming to the markets sometimes weigh 28 kg or 32 kgs. Therefore, the growers get cheated by the commission agents as they get rates only for defined weight, not actual weight,바카라 says Sanjay Chauhan, former Mayor of Shimla Mayor and Spokesman of United Kisan Manch.
Chauhan recalls that during a series of meetings held with the ministers ahead of the season, the commission agents had also agreed but now they have gone back on that and have left apple-growers in the lurch.
On Saturday, Chief Minister Sukhu also met the delegation of apple-growers and commission agents separately. This led to further confusion in the markets as a section of the commission agents claimed Sukhu had accepted their demand and the old system would continue.
Sanyukt Kisan Manch (SKM), a joint forum of the farmers, was quick to react.
바카라Chief Minister allowing arhatiyas to sell through the old system along with by weight has hurt the apple-growers. This has caused confusion in the market,바카라 said SKM convenor Harish Chauhan.
Finding the government utterly helpless and embarrassed, Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi and Education Minister Rohit Thakur, who hails from the apple-growing area, decided to send a clear message and to even snub the commission agents for playing with sentiments of the growers.
Together, the two ministers announced that they will stand with the growers and implement the April 6 notification.
바카라The commission agents going on strike without any prior notice to the government is a serious matter particularly at the time the state is struggling with natural calamities .The growers have also been severely hit by the calamities. It바카라s not an easy thing to bring the produce up to the mandis. It바카라s highly unfair to treat them like this,바카라 said Nagi, terming the strike by arhatiyas illegal and threatening them with action.
Thakur termed the Sukhu government바카라s decision as 바카라historic바카라 and said it would stop the exploitation of farmers.
He said, 바카라The decision of the government is historic and gives a turning point to end the exploitation of farmers. The government will not back down from it. Roads are getting closed due to heavy rains, they will be restored on priority basis, not even a grain of apple will be allowed to rot.바카라
Prakash Thakur, an orchardist and former Vice Chairman of Horticultural Produce Marketing & Processing Corporation (HPMC), said Negi바카라s decision is noteworthy in many ways to stop unrelenting 바카라bullying바카라 of the growers at the market places.
바카라In fact, it바카라s not only the HP Agriculture and Horticulture Produce Marketing (Development and Regulations) Act which is violated. There are two other parliamentary acts 바카라Legal Metrology Act, 2009 and Goods Carried by Road Act, 2007바카라 that are being violated,바카라 said Thakur.
The apple-growers feel strongly that arhatiyas being a powerful lobby are playing mischief and are blackmailing the government. They feel this will ruin the apple economy.
This is not the first time that the arhatiyas are opposing a decision of the state government.
Earlier, arhatiyas had derailed a decision taken by former Horticulture Minister Vidya Stokes to introduce 바카라universal cartons바카라 in 2014-15. The then-Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh overruled the decision of Stokes. Since then, the arhatiyas have been bullying the growers.
Tightening his stand against the commission agents for not selling the fruit by weight, Negi has now made it clear that there cannot be two rules to sell apples in the mandis and the commission agents will have to sell by weight. He has given a two-day ultimatum to the arhatiyas to return to their business, failing which the government will be compelled to invoke penalties.
Former CM Jairam Thakur on Sunday said, 바카라The conflicting stance of the government has caused confusion among apple-growers and stakeholder. There is a severe lack of coordination between the CM and horticulture minister creating serious hardships for the apple-growers.바카라