Punjab CM writes to Modi on continuation of DBT scheme

Chandigarh, April 3 : Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking continuance of the existing system of payment to farmers till a consensus can be evolved on the issue of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
Asserting that ‘arhtiyas’ are not middlemen between the farmers and the procurement agencies, but are service providers, the Chief Minister urged the Prime Minister to ensure that the livelihoods of the farmers and all others involved in the smooth procurement of food grains are not jeorpardised.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, Amarinder Singh also sought a meeting to apprise him about the concerns of various stakeholders about changing the existing payment system “before the situation gets out of hand.
On behalf of the government of Punjab, he assured Modi of his complete support towards evolving a consensus amongst the stakeholders for long-term durable reforms.
Expressing concern over recent efforts to ‘rock’ the legally sanctioned, and well-established institutional and social arrangements through some guidelines and directives of the government of India, the Chief Minister said he had noticed a pattern in some of the recent one-sided decisions and steps taken by the government of India.
He added that as a soldier and a farmer himself, he “would like to highlight the risks and threats that are likely to be posed for the ‘food security’ of the nation as a result of some of these decisions for being completely detached from ground realities of farming in this part of the country.”