Was reading a report by a retired Central Excise Officer about the ground situation in Punjab. Just sharing a few points because they seen quite plausible from what one knows about lease farming in Punjab.
Many farmers from the very small to the big lease their lands to the APMC Syndicate members on long term basis.
Many of these lands are in the down shadow of the Bhakra tributaries.
The land yields 40 - 50 quintals rice and about 55 quintals of wheat/acre. The system operates on the Hundi system of making payments per crop season to farmers based on land records kept by the Syndicate members under a cooperative loan scheme.
Farmers get a few thousand rupees as loan based on land mortgaged from time to time plus crop (only profit) payments per season. So farmers get money without physically working in the fields other than supervisory work.
The Syndicate members are mostly from the SAD, INC and some AAP and the communists.
They literally own the APMCs and the Co-operative banks.
They manage the lands by employing labour from UP, Bihar etc on short term contract basis.
As per revenue intelligence reports, 50% is purchased through APMCs and the other 50% is sold outside the state.
But the real fix is on manipulation of produce.
As per IT returns, the Syndicate members and traders show a higher crop yield to the tune of 60 - 80 quintals per acre than the actual 45 - 50.
And all this additional income on non existent produce is 100% tax free, in addition to the income from actual yield - it is money laundering on a vast scale.
It is estimated that the scam is worth Rs. 30 - 35 crores/1000 acres/pa from the non existent produce shown.
Many Syndicate members literally 'own' 2500 - 5000, some even 10,000 acres through this co-operative system.
The Badals, it is estimated, own 25,000 acres across Punjab and Haryana and earn 750 - 1000 crores pa through this co-operative land approach.
Now the farm laws threaten this Syndicate because while the farmers' income remains tax free, these laws require the farmer to disclose the PAN of the trader he is selling to.
There in lies the fix. Now the trader is not a farmer and is not exempt from IT. So if he buys thousands of crores worth from farmers and sells it, he has to pay tax and GST.
But in reality neither has the farmer sold anything nor has the trader bought anything. It was under this system that Chidambaram claimed crores in IT exemption for cauliflower grown in his kitchen garden - just like Supriya Sule in Maharashtra.
Now this route is being closed. So one can understand how high the stakes are for such harks. It explains the colossal amounts of money being pumped into Singu border protests.
It explains how it suits these sharks to allow Khalistanis and divisive elements to hijack the protests thereby turning the whole issue into a Punjab vs the Centre stand off - which takes away the focus from the sharks themselves.
As for the farmers, they are just cannon fodder!
Tailpiece.
Got up at a half past 6, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. It was a lazy and quiet Sunday.
Saw the television premiere of the Malayalam movie, "The great Indian Kitchen". A nicely made movie where the hero is a normal guy and not a superman. The suppressed woman who spends her life in the kitchen to cater to the male egos while being unable to pursue her dreams finally, revolts - this is the thread. Wouldn't like to divulge any more because it will dampen those of you who plan to watch the movie.
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