Mungantiwar meets CM Fadnavis seeking Rs 20,000 per hectare paddy bonus; department told to act
MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai, and the CM directed the food and civil supplies department's principal secretary to take necessary action.
Mumbai: MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar has once again pressed the government to give paddy growers a bonus of Rs 20,000 per hectare. He met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at his official residence, Varsha, in Mumbai and pressed the demand strongly.
Taking note of Mungantiwar's demand, Fadnavis has directed the principal secretary of the Food and Civil Supplies Department to take the necessary action. This is expected to speed up further action on the paddy bonus demand at the government level.
The issue began in the Assembly. Mungantiwar raised the difficulties of paddy-growing farmers in the House and put the question of a bonus before the government. He did not stop after speaking in the House. He has kept pressing the matter with the department concerned, at the government level and in the decision-making process. The latest step was his meeting with Fadnavis today, when he repeated the farmers' demand directly.
Mungantiwar has made the demand so that paddy growers get relief from the rising burden of production costs, proper financial support for their labour, and encouragement to grow paddy. His position is that the value of a farmer's toil should be reflected not only in the market price but also in government support.
If a decision is taken to give a bonus of Rs 20,000 per hectare, it will ease some of the farmers' rising production costs. Farmers who work on paddy in the kharif season will also get financial help. The issue is particularly important for farmers in Vidarbha, many of whom depend heavily on paddy cultivation.
Mungantiwar said, "The paddy-growing farmer raises his crop with great effort. Amid rising production costs and all kinds of difficulties, it is essential that he gets the government's support. That is why I raised the demand for a bonus of Rs 20,000 per hectare in the Assembly and kept pressing it afterwards. Today I met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and raised the demand again. He has directed the department concerned to take action. My role is to ensure that paddy-growing farmers get justice."
The campaign that began in the Assembly has now reached the Chief Minister's level. Farmers are now watching for the government's next decision on the demand.
