'70% paddy yet to be procured’: Hooda slams BJP seeks white paper on MSP

Chandigarh: Leader of opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Saturday criticised the BJP govt in Haryana, alleging that 70% of the paddy across state mandis was yet to be procured.Addressing media persons alongside Thanesar MLA Ashok Arora at his residence, Hooda demanded a white paper on the state’s claim of providing MSP on 24 crops.Hooda said that of the 12 lakh metric tonnes of paddy that had arrived in mandis, the govt had procured only 30%. “Out of the procured stock, merely 17% has been lifted, leaving mandis completely choked with no storage space,” Hooda stated, citing administrative hurdles like portal delays, gate passes, capping, and verification backlogs affecting lakhs of acres.The former CM alleged that due to the lack of timely state intervention, distressed farmers were forced to sell paddy at rates Rs 400 below the MSP, while pearl millet (bajra) is trading Rs 800–Rs 900 lower per quintal than its fixed rate of Rs 2,900.“The CM promised Rs 3,100 per quintal during elections, but farmers are struggling to even get the standard MSP of Rs 2,441,” he added, citing severe losses in moong and bajra. He further pointed out an artificial shortage of fertilizers, noting that against an Oct allocation of 3.50 lakh metric tonnes of urea and 1.5 lakh metric tonnes of DAP, only 67,000 MT and 38,000 MT have been lifted respectively.Echoing similar concerns, MLA Ashok Arora remarked that bureaucratic bottlenecks are being deliberately created to force farmers into distress sales, ultimately benefiting private traders.Hooda also called upon citizens and supporters to assemble in Delhi on Oct 12 to join the INDIA alliance’s agitation demanding the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar over electoral integrity issues.You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Chandigarh | Silver Rate in Chandigarh | Bank Holidays in Chandigarh | Public Holidays in Chandigarh | Chandigarh AQI | Weather in Chandigarh | Petrol Price in Chandigarh | Diesel Price in Chandigarh | CNG Price in Chandigarh | LPG Price in ChandigarhStay updated with the latest Chandigarh news. Download the TOI App.