Rice procurement has once again emerged as a flashpoint in Chhattisgarh politics, with competing claims of irregularities, administrative lapses and political exaggeration dominating the debate. Allegations of large-scale shortages, officially attributed to storage wastage, have drawn sharp criticism from the Congress, while the ruling BJP has rejected the charges as politically motivated.
The issue escalated after Congress MLA from Kharsia, Umesh Patel, led a delegation of farmers to the Raigarh Collectorate, demanding immediate corrective action.
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At the centre of the controversy are claims that rice worth several crores of rupees has been shown as damaged or lost during storage, allegedly due to rodents and natural decay. While officials describe such losses as part of standard wastage norms, the opposition has questioned the scale and transparency of the accounting, arguing that farmers are bearing the brunt of administrative inefficiencies.
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Submitting a memorandum to the district administration, Patel alleged that farmers were being compelled to surrender cultivated acreage and that eligible cultivators were being denied procurement tokens. He claimed that procurement limits had been arbitrarily reduced at several cooperative societies, leaving farmers with unsold paddy even as the procurement season progressed.
Addressing reporters, the Congress MLA said shortages valued at around Rs 7 crore had earlier surfaced in Kabirdham district and that similar discrepancies, estimated at nearly Rs 9 crore, were now being reported from Raigarh. He warned that if the issues were not resolved promptly, farmers would stage a tractor protest outside the Collectorate.
Responding to the allegations, Raigarh Additional Collector Apoorv Priyesh Toppo said the administration was examining the concerns raised by farmers and their representatives. He stated that procurement limits reduced at certain centres would be reassessed and increased where warranted. “No eligible farmer possessing genuine produce will be forced into acreage surrender,” he said, adding that pending verifications would be expedited by magistrates and patwaris to ensure timely issuance of tokens.
The present row traces back to Kabirdham district, where an estimated 26,000 quintals of rice, valued at about Rs 7 crore, was reported missing from storage centres. Officials attributed the shortfall to a combination of rodents, insects, moisture and storage-related wastage. Opposition leaders, however, alleged misappropriation and demanded a comprehensive probe.
Following preliminary scrutiny, the district marketing officer was issued a notice, the storage centre in-charge was suspended, and a special inquiry team was constituted to examine the discrepancies.
The BJP has strongly refuted the Congress’s allegations. State party spokesperson K S Chauhan said there was no official claim that rice losses were caused solely by rodents, describing the opposition narrative as misleading. He asserted that overall wastage had declined significantly under the current government due to the introduction of AI-based monitoring and GPS tracking systems.
Chauhan added that the state had procured over 104 lakh metric tonnes of rice and disbursed more than Rs 23,000 crore to farmers, arguing that such figures reflected the government’s commitment to procurement rather than any intent to undermine it.
As procurement operations continue across Chhattisgarh, the dispute highlights the high political stakes surrounding agricultural policy in the state. With farmers seeking clarity, administrators promising corrective measures, and political parties locked in a war of narratives, the rice procurement issue appears set to remain a major point of contention in the days ahead, one that could shape both policy responses and political alignments in the months to come.
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