Reconsider demand on paddy bonus, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan tells Centre

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has asked the Union government to reconsider its demand that the additional bonus given by the State for paddy be discontinued.

In a statement here, Mr. Vijayan was critical of the Centre’s argument that excess paddy production would entail additional expenditure on storage on the public exchequer. “The strange justification that an increase in paddy production is a liability for the land is tantamount to throwing a challenge to the farmers,” the Chief Minister said.

He also asked the Centre to explain whether its demand was an immediate outcome of opening up the Indian market to American farm products under the recent Indo-U.S. trade deal. He also blamed the Centre of making such a demand when it has already run up a backlog on the payment of its share of aid to the paddy farmers.

Letter from Centre

At the centre of the current controversy is a letter written by the Union Finance Expenditure Secretary to the Kerala Chief Secretary asking the State to discontinue the additional bonus given by the State for paddy.

The Kerala government was supporting the paddy farmers and holding them close by paying a bonus above and beyond the minimum support price (MSP) set by the Centre. It has been procuring paddy by paying an additional ₹6.31 per kg.

Those who have no compunction in writing off crores of rupees worth of corporate loans are portraying the farmers’ bonus as a liability and putting pressure on the State to discontinue it, Mr. Vijayan said. This shows an adversarial attitude not just to the farming community but to the land as a whole, he alleged.