Congress govt hastily enforced universal cartons for apple: Jai Ram
“The Sukhu government made universal cartons mandatory for apple purchase without full preparation. All the gardeners already have thousands of telescopic cartons lying with them, which cost lakhs of rupees,” Jai Ram said.
The Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Jai Ram Thakur on Thursday claimed that it was during the BJP government that the initiative was taken to sell apples in universal cartons.
“The Sukhu government made universal cartons mandatory for apple purchase without full preparation. All the gardeners already have thousands of telescopic cartons lying with them, which cost lakhs of rupees. The government should take back the telescopic cartons from the orchardists by giving them proper compensation. So that the orchardists can get relief at the beginning of the apple season,” Jai Ram said.
He said that the government hastily mandated universal cartons just before the apple season began. “However, orchardists involved in the early season had already arranged for telescopic cartons. Now, these orchardists are unable to obtain universal cartons, necessary for transporting their produce to the markets. Commission agents refuse to purchase produce delivered in telescopic cartons, resulting in unsold goods and additional costs for returning them from the markets,” Thakur said.
“Both orchardists and commission agents are troubled by the shortage of cartons, and the government has absolved itself of responsibility by enforcing these rules. It is imperative that the government supplies high-quality universal cartons at a reasonable price,” he said.
Jai Ram said that the attitude of the Congress towards the orchardists has always been unfortunate. “In the last season too, the government made rules for purchasing on the basis of weight but could not even arrange weighing machines to weigh the apples in the mandis. Due to which, the orchardists and the commission agents faced problems and the situation was such that the commission agents refused to take the apples,” he said.
