Haryana CM demands a bonus of Rs 200 per quintal over and above the MSP for paddy

AHMEDABAD: Haryana chief minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, has urged the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to announce a bonus of Rs 200 per quintal over and above the minimum support price ( MSP) for the Kharif season 2011 for all varieties of leviable paddy to ensure remunerative prices to the farmers of the state.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Hooda has requested him to reconsider the decision of the central government to enhance the MSP of paddy by Rs 80 per quintal over last year, and fix it at Rs 1,080 for common varieties and Rs 1,110 for Grade A varieties for Kharif marketing season 2011.

"The MSP announced is not adequate to cover the cost of production of paddy. We had recommended to the Government of India to fix Rs 1,350 per quintal for common, Rs 1,450 for fine and Rs 1,550 for suprerfine varietites of paddy as the MSP," the chief minister contended.