Battered badly by the natural calamities and relentless rains, Himachal Pradesh’s apple industry worth around Rs 5,500 crore has hit a big roadblock just ahead of the peak of the harvest season.
After the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Himachal government ordered apples to be sold ‘by weight’ as against the years-old practice of being sold ‘by box’, the influential ‘arhatiyas’ —commission agents— have come out in vehement opposition of the order. The resultant tussle, which comes at a time when apples have already started arriving in the market, has turned Himachal’s prime product into a bitter ‘apple of discord’ between the orchardists and arhatiyas.
The arhatiyas —commission agents or middlemen— form a powerful lobby. Traditionally, arhatiyas charge commission and facilitate selling of the produce. Now, after the Sukhu government’s order, the arhatiyas want to bulldoze the government order. They have shut their shops and have asked apple-producers to take their produce back to orchards or let it rot in transport vehicles in front of the wholesale markets in Shimla. This has resulted in huge panic in the Himachal’s apple-growing belt.
Sukhu govt stands by its notification amid opposition
Despite the arhatiyas’ opposition, Himachal Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi has stood by the government decision and has refused to get cowed down to the threats of the arhatiya lobby.
“The government stands by April 6, 2023 notification issued under the HP Agriculture and Horticulture Produce Marketing (Development and Regulations) Act, 2005, under which the commission agents and traders are bound to sell apples and alike fruits ‘by weight’ in all the markets. The weight of the cartons shall not exceed 24 kgs in any case,” said Negi on Saturday.
The sellers —apple producers— coming to the wholesale markets are also required to indicate the weight of the apple on the carton/box with a permanent marker. The notification reads: “It shall be mandatory to weigh the sample box(s) in each market. The commission agents shall arrange the weighing machine for this purpose.”
After the fuss created by the arhatiyas, who refused to adhere to provisions and went on strike, Negi threatened to invoke penalty clauses if they defied any provisions of law at the market yards.
Negi said, “We are going to open all the markets to outside commission agents and cancel the licences of those wilfully defying the government orders or any of the legal provisions of Act.”
During the Himachal assembly elections, Congress had promised in its manifesto that the government would ensure that the farmers should decide the price of the produce to stop their exploitation by the commission agents.
“We welcomed the decision of the government to sell apples in markets by weight, not by boxes. As the government has not been able to enforce universal cartons —fixed weight packing of 20-24 kg— the boxes coming to the markets sometimes weigh 28 kg or 32 kgs. Therefore, the growers get cheated by the commission agents as they get rates only for defined weight, not actual weight,” says Sanjay Chauhan, former Mayor of Shimla Mayor and Spokesman of United Kisan Manch.
Chauhan recalls that during a series of meetings held with the ministers ahead of the season, the commission agents had also agreed but now they have gone back on that and have left apple-growers in the lurch.
Sukhu govt clears confusion, threatens striking agents with action
On Saturday, Chief Minister Sukhu also met the delegation of apple-growers and commission agents separately. This led to further confusion in the markets as a section of the commission agents claimed Sukhu had accepted their demand and the old system would continue.
Sanyukt Kisan Manch (SKM), a joint forum of the farmers, was quick to react.
“Chief Minister allowing arhatiyas to sell through the old system along with by weight has hurt the apple-growers. This has caused confusion in the market,” said SKM convenor Harish Chauhan.
Finding the government utterly helpless and embarrassed, Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi and Education Minister Rohit Thakur, who hails from the apple-growing area, decided to send a clear message and to even snub the commission agents for playing with sentiments of the growers.
Together, the two ministers announced that they will stand with the growers and implement the April 6 notification.
“The commission agents going on strike without any prior notice to the government is a serious matter particularly at the time the state is struggling with natural calamities .The growers have also been severely hit by the calamities. It’s not an easy thing to bring the produce up to the mandis. It’s highly unfair to treat them like this,” said Nagi, terming the strike by arhatiyas illegal and threatening them with action.
Thakur termed the Sukhu government’s decision as “historic” and said it would stop the exploitation of farmers.
He said, “The decision of the government is historic and gives a turning point to end the exploitation of farmers. The government will not back down from it. Roads are getting closed due to heavy rains, they will be restored on priority basis, not even a grain of apple will be allowed to rot.”
Prakash Thakur, an orchardist and former Vice Chairman of Horticultural Produce Marketing & Processing Corporation (HPMC), said Negi’s decision is noteworthy in many ways to stop unrelenting “bullying” of the growers at the market places.
“In fact, it’s not only the HP Agriculture and Horticulture Produce Marketing (Development and Regulations) Act which is violated. There are two other parliamentary acts —Legal Metrology Act, 2009 and Goods Carried by Road Act, 2007— that are being violated,” said Thakur.
Not the first time arhatiyas are opposing govt
The apple-growers feel strongly that arhatiyas being a powerful lobby are playing mischief and are blackmailing the government. They feel this will ruin the apple economy.
This is not the first time that the arhatiyas are opposing a decision of the state government.
Earlier, arhatiyas had derailed a decision taken by former Horticulture Minister Vidya Stokes to introduce ‘universal cartons’ in 2014-15. The then-Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh overruled the decision of Stokes. Since then, the arhatiyas have been bullying the growers.
Tightening his stand against the commission agents for not selling the fruit by weight, Negi has now made it clear that there cannot be two rules to sell apples in the mandis and the commission agents will have to sell by weight. He has given a two-day ultimatum to the arhatiyas to return to their business, failing which the government will be compelled to invoke penalties.
Former CM Jairam Thakur on Sunday said, “The conflicting stance of the government has caused confusion among apple-growers and stakeholder. There is a severe lack of coordination between the CM and horticulture minister creating serious hardships for the apple-growers.”
