UP asks Centre to increase wheat MSP

Lucknow, Apr 28 (UNI) Perturbed by the low purchase of wheat and the resultant escalation in prices of flour in the market, the Uttar Pradesh government today decided to ask the Centre to increase the already announced minimum supprt price of wheat.

The wide gap bewteen the support price and the market rate has compelled wheat farmers to sell their produce in the open market instead of approaching the government agencies -- a trend proving to be a costly affair for the general public as the flour (atta) prices have started spiralling.

The Centre had fixed the MSP of wheat at Rs 650. Even after announcing Rs 50 as bonus, the market price of the wheat is not less than Rs 800, which is dissuading the farmers to come to the government agencies.

A high-level meeting of the state government, held here this morning, decided to approach the Government of India for increasing the price in the larger interest of the people of the state.

The meeting, chaired by state minister Shiv Pal Singh Yadav and attended by Agricuture Minister, Food Minister, Chief Secretary, Agriculture Production Commissioner (APC) and other senior officers, also decided to ask the Central government to import wheat at cheaper rates and distribute it through Public Distribution System (PDS).

''The wheat purchase this season has been just 20,000 tonne against the target of 25 lakh tonne, a figure disturbing the state government to a great extent,'' a senior Food Ministry official told UNI here.

Last year also, the purchase was five lakh tonne against the same target but this year, the situation was even worse, he said.

He said in the interest of the wheat farmers, it was not advisable to press them to sell their products at a lower rate since they were getting better rates in the market. ''This, however, has resulted into a crisis situation as the wheat flour is getting dearer in the open market,'' he said.

Another point of concern for the state government has been the farmers switching to other crops like Bajra (millet) and Maize in view of low profitability from wheat crop.

Meanwhile, the state government has directed the authorities to monitor the market prices of wheat flour to prevent black marketing and undue profit taking under the present scenario.

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