Manohar Lal Khattar (File)
Months after Haryana farmers were forced to sell potatoes for as low a price as 20 paise per kg, the state government on Friday announced the setting up of a Vegetable Price Stability Fund to address seasonal fluctuations in the price of key perishable and non-perishable vegetables.
In reply to a query by The Indian Express, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said, “As perishable vegetables like potato and tomato cannot be stored for long and the farmers have no solution to this problem, it has been decided to set up a separate Vegetable Price Stability Fund to provide assistance to the farmers in the event of price fluctuations.”
The chief minister was addressing a press conference on the occasion of the BJP-led state government having completed 1,000 days in office. The Indian Express had earlier highlighted how farmers sold potatoes at 20 paise per kg at the Pipli grain market in Kurukshetra district. The situation was almost the same elsewhere in the state, too, as there was no mechanism to support the farmers – who were forced to opt for distress sale – even after a bumper potato crop.
Khattar claimed that the government has fulfilled almost all the promises made by the BJP ahead of the Assembly polls. Transparency in recruitment for government jobs has been stated as one of his top achievements. “It was painful when the youths had to look for sifarish for government jobs. We have changed that pattern to ensure jobs on merit,” he said.
