Alleging paddy procurement mismanagement, Cong walks out of Chhattisgarh assembly

Raipur, Dec 15 (PTI) The Congress on Monday boycotted proceedings of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly alleging large-scale mismanagement in paddy procurement by the state's BJP government.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Leader of the Opposition Charan Das Mahant and other Congress legislators moved an adjournment motion seeking a discussion on paddy procurement, claiming the government had failed to make proper arrangements.

The opposition party claimed farmers were facing trouble in getting tokens to sell their paddy, adding that paddy of farmers holding Forest Rights Certificates (FRCs) for land in forest areas was also not being procured.

Demanding a detailed discussion by admitting the adjournment motion, former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel said the matter was serious and directly linked to farmers.

Speaker Raman Singh then allowed a discussion on the admissibility of the motion.

Congress MLAs said procurement of paddy at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for the Kharif marketing year 2025-26 began on November 15 and will continue till January 31. However, they alleged the scale of mismanagement and problems faced by farmers since the beginning of the season were unprecedented and had not been witnessed in the last 25 years.

They claimed that in previous years, data of farmers who had sold paddy in the preceding season was automatically carried forward, eliminating the need for fresh registration at cooperative societies.

This year, the Congress legislators alleged, the registration process has been made so complex that nearly 5 per cent of farmers remain unregistered, while registration of over four lakh land records (khasras) is still pending.

Congress legislators further alleged online registration and token issuance have become excessively complicated, causing severe distress to farmers. In Mahasamund, a farmer named Manbodh allegedly attempted suicide by slitting his throat after failing to receive a token, they said.

Based on crop damage (anavari) reports, most cooperative societies are procuring only 12 to 15 quintals of paddy per acre, instead of the standard 21 quintals per acre, they alleged.

The Congress also claimed discrepancies caused by the AgriStack portal not being updated for 2025-26 were preventing farmers from selling their entire produce.

As of December 14, against an estimated procurement target of 160 lakh metric tonnes, only 35 lakh metric tonnes of paddy had been procured, Baghel said in the House.

Of the total 27.36 lakh registered farmers, only 6.95 lakh had been able to sell their produce so far, he said while alleging that the state government appeared unwilling to procure paddy from farmers.

Replying to the allegations, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Dayaldas Baghel said paddy procurement was being carried out smoothly through 2,739 procurement centres across the state and that strict monitoring was in place to prevent illegal transportation of paddy.

He said farmer registration for Kharif marketing year 2025-26 is being done through the Integrated Farmer Portal and the AgriStack portal, and so far 27.40 lakh farmers have registered, compared to 25.49 lakh last year, an increase of about 7.5 per cent.

The minister said Forest Rights Certificate holders, village kotwars (government leaseholders) and certain other categories have been exempted from AgriStack registration.

The registration process is still underway, the minister said.

"The government has introduced a 24-hour token facility through the 'Tuhar Token' app for the current season. So far, 17.24 lakh tokens have been issued, enabling procurement of 87 lakh tonnes of paddy, and farmers can obtain tokens up to 20 days in advance," he said.

As of December 11, an amount of Rs 7,771 crore had been paid to farmers against paddy procurement under the MSP, the minister informed.

After the minister's reply, Speaker Raman Singh disallowed the adjournment notice.

Subsequently, Mahant claimed the minister's statement was incorrect and said the opposition was not satisfied with the response. Congress members then boycotted the proceedings and staged a walkout from the House. PTI TKP BNM