Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath. (PTI/File)THE MADHYA Pradesh government on Tuesday announced bonus of Rs 160 per quintal over and above the Rs 1,860 minimum support price (MSP) announced by the Central government for wheat in October 2018.
The bonus will ensure that wheat growers in the state get Rs 2,000 per quintal, a rate promised by the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government months before the Assembly elections were announced.
The Congress government announced the bonus hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed it for not sending the list of beneficiaries of PM Kisan Samman Yojana to the Centre.
Chief Minister Kamal Nath said that even farmers who don’t sell their wheat to the government will be eligible for the bonus. “Even farmers who sell their wheat in mandis will get bonus, which the state government will pay from its budget,” he said.
Meanwhile, the chief minister alleged that the Central government has stopped the release of Rs 1,000 crore fund meant for soybean under the Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana.
“Even if the central government does not release the fund, the MP government will make the full payment under the scheme,” he said.
Incidentally, Agriculture Minister Sachin Yadav had announced that the scheme will be scrapped. After being reprimanded by the chief minister, who was away at Davos then, the minister said the scheme will continue with some changes.
