70% of paddy awaits procurement, farmers losing up to ₹900 per quintal: Former CM Hooda; seeks white paper on MSP claims
Former Haryana chief minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Saturday accused the BJP government of delaying paddy procurement, alleging that 70% of the crop arriving in mandis was yet to be procured, forcing farmers to sell their produce below the minimum support price (MSP).
Girish Saini
Oct 10, 2026 11:18
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Rohtak/Chandigarh, October 10, 2026: Former Haryana chief minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Saturday accused the BJP government of delaying paddy procurement, alleging that 70% of the crop arriving in mandis was yet to be procured, forcing farmers to sell their produce below the minimum support price (MSP).
Hooda said that against 12 lakh metric tonnes of paddy arrivals, the government had procured only 30% and lifted just 17% of the procured stock, leaving mandis struggling with storage space. He alleged that portal-related hurdles, verification, gate passes and procurement limits were being used to delay purchases.
Claiming that farmers were incurring losses of up to ₹400 per quintal on paddy and ₹800–900 on bajra, Hooda said the government had failed to deliver on its promise of procuring paddy at ₹3,100 per quintal. He also flagged losses of ₹1,500–1,600 per quintal for moong growers due to the absence of effective procurement.
Citing an incident at the Uklana grain market, Hooda alleged that three moisture-testing machines gave different readings for the same paddy sample, raising questions about the procurement process.
He demanded a white paper naming the 24 crops for which the government claims to provide MSP in Haryana and detailing the actual extent of procurement at support prices. He also accused the government of failing to ensure adequate fertiliser supplies, citing the limited lifting of allocated urea and DAP stocks.
Hooda said MSP for wheat and paddy had risen by 14–15% during the Congress government’s 2005–2014 tenure, compared with 5–6% under the BJP government.
Senior Congress leader and Thanesar MLA Ashok Arora alleged that farmers were being compelled to sell crops at lower rates to benefit private agencies.
On the INDIA bloc’s protest against alleged vote theft, Hooda demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and appealed to people to reach Delhi on October 12, saying the agitation was aimed at protecting votes and democracy.
