DW BUREAU / Chandigarh The Bhagwant Mann government has announced to take a historic decision to provide relief to the farmers of the Malwa cotton belt of the state. The agriculture minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, during his recent visit to the cotton belt of Malwa, listened to the problems of the farmers and today the Punjab Cotton Factories and Ginners Association held a meeting with the minister about the problems of cotton farmers and their problems. Divulging details after the meeting, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said that the Punjab government will reduce the 'Aartias' Commission from 2.5 percent to 1 percent to give direct benefit to the farmers. The Minister of Agriculture said that commision to 'Aartias' can not be given on cotton according to the ratio on wheat and paddy because expenses on paddy and wheat crops include cleaning, filling, weighing and transporting etc, but as per the information given by farmers there are no such expenses on cotton in the grain markets. He said that as a result of this, the government has already reduced the market fee on cotton from 2 percent to 0.5 percent in the intrest of the cotton farmers. He also said that the farmers of cotton belt are facing a lot of problems due to natural calamities such as bad weather and diseases to the cotton crop, this decision will give some relief to the cotton farmers. Apart from this, the Punjab Cotton Factories and Ginners Association brought to the notice of the Agriculture Minister that for the last few years the cotton crop has been facing various diseases and the farmers of the cotton belt have shifted from cotton to paddy. They further said that many cotton factories in the state are on the brink of closure or have closed due to losses. Association appealed to the Agriculture Minister to take more cotton farmer friendly decisions to encourage cotton crop in the state. They also informed the Agriculture Minister about their various problems and said that the Electricity Board charges fixed charges which are not justified. Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal immediately talked to the Chairman of the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Authority and requested him to provide relief to the cotton factory owners. The Chairman assured the minister that a positive solution to this issue will be found. (editor@dailyworld.in)