Junior Badal for including Punjab in Wheat Enhancement Prog

Chandigarh, July 27 (UNI) Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) acting president Sukhbir Singh Badal today requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for including all 20 districts of Punjab in the Wheat Enhancement Programme.

In a letter to the PM, Mr Badal said that central assistance for making agriculture sustainable in Punjab for meeting the food security requirements of the nation was essential. ''Punjab has acquired sufficient expertise and has built a strong technological resource base in wheat production and the state contributes 60 per cent of wheat stock procured for the Central pool,'' he said.

However, the sustainability of wheat production in Punjab at the present level has become difficult due to ''alarming depletion of micro-nutrients in the soil and continuous fall in ground water level,'' Mr Badal said while pointing that wheat yield in the state had fallen by about 22 per cent over the last five years.

''Arresting and reversing the downward trend in wheat yield in Punjab requires financial resources that are beyond the reach of the state on its own'', the letter added. The wheat package including seed replacement, incentives for micro-nutrientsm gypsum, improved farm practices etc is being finalised by the Centre and Punjab had not been included in this package, the SAD leader said.

Through the letter Mr Badal has urged the Prime Minister that for ''ensuring wheat self-sufficiency of the country and to avoid dependence on wheat imports, the inclusion of all districts of Punjab in the proposed Wheat Enhancement Programme is absolutely necessary''.

UNI