Chandigarh, Jul 20 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has urged Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan to restore the commission of 'arhtiyas' (commission agents) to the statutory norm of 2.5 per cent of minimum support price (MSP).

Any deviation from the existing policy could cause serious disruptions to paddy procurement process, Singh said in a letter to Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.

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He said the flat rate commission provided for rabi marketing season (RMS) was contrary to the statutory norm of 2.5 per cent of MSP.

The chief minister requested Paswan to accordingly amend the provisional cost sheet for RMS 2020-21, issued by the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Government of India, an official release said here.

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As per the sheet, arhtiyas' commission has been allowed at a flat rate of Rs 46 per quintal, which appears to be based on certain estimates of the actual expenditure incurred, Singh said.

Unrest is already brewing among the 'arhtiyas' over this issue, which, if left unresolved, has the potential of seriously disrupting the smooth procurement of paddy during kharif marketing season 2020-21, he said in the letter.

The chief minister pointed out that the existing practice of commission payable to the arhtiyas is governed by the statutory provisions of the Punjab Agriculture Produce Marketing Act, 1961 and the rules framed thereunder.

He mentioned that Rule 24A of the Punjab Agriculture Produce Markets (General) Rules, 1962 mandates that this commission shall be payable at the rate of 2.5 per cent of the sale price of wheat/paddy.

Singh pointed out that Punjab is already passing through an acute financial crisis due to the slowdown in production and consumption patterns across all sectors of the economy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite the problems, the arhtiyas contributed immensely during RMS 2020-21 in ensuring hassle-free procurement.

This in turn has ensured maintainability of operational stocks and food security stocks/reserves of the Food Corporation of India, thereby allowing the government of India to liberally release food grains under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana and the 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' scheme, he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)