New Delhi: Four months ahead of the assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is facing the ire of apple farmers over high cost of living and alleged failure to protect its interests.
Apple growers have considerable political influence in Shimla district where up to 70 per cent State Apples are grown in – and parts of Kinnaur, Solan and Mandi and Sirmaur. These districts together form the apple belt in Himachal and comprise about 20 of the 68 assembly constituencies where the BJP needs to quell its anger ahead of the elections.
Apple growers complain that the 6 per cent hike in GST on packaging cartons and non-availability of subsidy on fertilisers have increased the cost of trading.
Last month, 27 producer unions under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Manch (SKM) staged protests in several districts including Rohru, Theog, Kotkhai, Narkanda, Rampur, Nirmand, Kinnaur, Mandi and Shimla. These unions have threatened to boycott the elections if their demands are not met, besides warning of a major agitation at the state secretariat in Shimla on August 5.
SKM convener Harish Chauhan told ThePrint, “The cost of apples has doubled in the last three years, but the revenue has not increased that much.”
“If such protests continue till the election season, it could jeopardize the party’s prospects in the apple belt,” a senior BJP leader told ThePrint.
In view of the statewide protests, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur held a meeting with apple growers on July 28. Himachal Government announced Some concessions to address some concerns of apple growers.
Announcement was made to set up a committee with subsidies for restoration of old system of providing fertilizers through government shops and increase in GST.
But the producers demanding roll back of the GST hike are unfazed by the move. Sanjay Chauhan, a farmer in the Kotkhai region and an office bearer of SKM, told ThePrint: “By the time the committee submits its report, the apple season will be over. Also, there is no representative of the farming community in the panel, whose members have been selected by the CM. It seems that the state government is not serious about resolving the issues related to apple growers.
On the subsidy announced on GST, he said that most of the farmers have already bought expensive packaging material.
RK Pruthi, director of horticulture in Himachal Pradesh, told ThePrint: “The government has accepted most of the demands of farmers, but the price is determined by several factors such as the quality of apples and the demand versus supply situation.”
“The state has announced subsidies to compensate for the GST hike, and has agreed to make fertilizers available through the Centre. The government will also create a Horticulture Board which was one of the demands of the farmers. To resolve other issues, a high-level committee has been constituted,” he said.
Read also: ‘More than half’ of Himachal Pradesh’s plantation expenditure wasted, study finds
Apple Growers Complaint
In Himachal, the area under apple cultivation is 49 percent of the total area under fruit production, on which about 1.7 lakh families are dependent. Apple’s economy is estimated to be Rs 5,500 crore a report,
The main problem for apple farmers has been the increase in input cost. Chouhan cited two factors, including raising the GST on packaging material to 18 per cent from 12 per cent last year.
“The hike was announced in October, but its impact was felt this season. The price of tray has gone up by Rs 600 to Rs 850 per 100 units, while it has gone up from Rs 40 to Rs 60 per carton.
“The second factor is the increase in the price of fertilizers in the open market. Earlier the government also used to provide insecticides and fungicides at low rates through its outlets, but this has stopped in the last two years. Subsidy is also not coming. Earlier the cost of 50 kg insecticide was Rs 255, which is now Rs 1,740 in the market. This has increased the cost of cultivation while the price of apples is falling every year,” said Chouhan.
Apple growers are also demanding introduction of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for A, B and C category apples, as was done in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Through the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS), rates were fixed for buying A grade apples at Rs 60, B grade at Rs 44 and C grade at Rs 24 in Jammu and Kashmir. But in Himachal, the government does not have an MSP based procurement system. Only the state agency APMC procures C grade apples for jam and juice at Rs 10 per kg while the cost of cultivation is Rs 40 to 50 per kg. Farmers are getting only Rs 70-80 for A grade apples. The same apple Adani sells for Rs 200 a kg in the open market.
The import of apples from Chile and Iran has added to the difficulties of the farmers. “We have demanded that the import duty be increased to 100 per cent, and Himachal Pradesh Horticulture Produce Marketing and Processing Corporation (HPMC) and Himfed’s dues of Rs 40 crore be released to the farmers,” Chouhan said.,
On the MSP scheme, Pruthi said: “The Jammu and Kashmir plan was only for the time of COVID, so the same demand is not possible for Himachal.”
BJP’s ‘lack of communication’
The BJP currently has only two of the eight assembly seats in Shimla’s major apple-growing region.
According to another senior Himachal BJP leader, “The main problem is the lack of communication by the government with the farmers. CM has held only one meeting with apple growers union but it will not work in election year.
“Horticulture Minister Mahendra Singh Thakur has no relation with apple growers. He doesn’t interact with them regularly. Earlier, the Horticulture Minister Narendra Bragata was from the apple belt, and such protests never took place. He used to intervene immediately to address the problems,” the leader said.
Meanwhile, Congress Last year Having won three seats in the Himachal Assembly by-polls and a crucial Lok Sabha seat in Mandi, the BJP is targeting the government for “ignoring” the concerns of apple growers. The opposition party has assured that after coming to power, all the problems of the farmers will be resolved.
Another BJP leader told ThePrint: “Most farmers’ union leaders are from Congress or Left background, while leaders with right-wing links have less influence here.”
The leader referred to former Congress chief minister Virbhadra Singh, who had roots in Shimla district, and Vidya Stokes, former state horticulture minister in the Congress government, who was also an apple grower. “Another apple grower and CPM MLA from Theog constituency Rakesh Singha also has a stake in the association. This is another reason why the protest is going on for a long time despite assurances from the state government,” the BJP leader said.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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