Chandigarh: The Shiv Sena on Monday demanded increase in the bonus from Rs 50 to Rs 100 on the minimum support price of wheat and making the procurement price Rs 750 per quintal.

Addressing a press conference here, Shiv Sena leader K.L. Gidwani, while welcoming the Government's decision to give a bonus of Rs 50, said the Government needs to further increase the bonus to Rs 100 per quintal in order to carry out procurement and cover its stock required for the Target for Public Distribution System (TPDS) and the open market.

With the current situation the Government will be able to procure wheat only from Punjab and Haryana and failing which the Government will be left with no stock and thus inviting a disastrous situation in the future, said Mr Gidwani, Convenor of Action Committee for Essential Commodities of Shiv Sena.

Urging the Central Government to announce an increase in the MSP to a minimum of Rs 750 per quintal, he said this was extremely essential to boost wheat farming, as with a higher MSP a farmer would be assured of basic support price and lured into farming of wheat.

With higher production the country will never be faced with a situation of having to import wheat, he added.

Mr Gidwani said the Centre's decision to import three million tonnes of wheat is going to cost the Government more than Rs 1,000 per quintal. Instead, if a higher MSP is paid the Government will stand to gain and so would the farmer who feels cheated with the decision of import. The Shiv Sena leader said procurement of wheat by multi-national companies must be under control until such time that the Government takes to cover its required stock for TPDS and open market.

"It is very essential for the Government to hold adequate stock of essential commodities as done in the past, failing which the Government will lose its control on the price and making availability based on supply and demand situation of essential commodity in the open market," he said.

Mr Gidwani apprehended that with no restriction on the MNCs on holding stock they would capture the market and in future control wheat price in open market. Currently the price in Mumbai open market for bulk consumers has gone up to Rs 1050 per quintal from Rs 950 per quintal last week. The main reason for this is the large scale buying by MNCs and the high price at which the Government has imported wheat, setting a trend of increase in price, he said. -- UNI

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