Farmers being paid below MSP through ‘kachi parchi’ in Karnal mandis

A shocking malpractice has come to light in the ongoing paddy procurement season, where farmers are allegedly being paid below the minimum support price (MSP) through a parallel “kachi parchi” (raw slip) system, while official records show payments made as per the MSP.

As per farmers, arhtiyas and rice millers are issuing raw slips at rates between Rs 100 and Rs 700 less per quintal than the MSP, citing high moisture content in the paddy. However, government transfers to farmers’ bank accounts reflect the full MSP, exposing an organised cut being taken from the farmers’ produce value.

In one case, a farmer’s paddy was procured at Rs 2,000 per quintal in Karnal grain market, while the official MSP for the season stands at Rs 2,389 for A-grade paddy. The total value of his 46 quintals of paddy was recorded as Rs 91,635 on the “kachi parchi”, but Rs 1,09,296 was credited to his bank account. Now, he has been asked to return the difference — an amount allegedly to be siphoned off by arhtiyas and passed on to rice millers.

Leaders of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) have urged farmers not to return the money to arhtiyas and millers. Farmer unions have condemned this as “systematic daylight robbery”, accusing officials, arhtiyas and millers of collusion.

“This is open cheating in the name of moisture deduction. It is an organised nexus involving officials of procurement agencies, the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB), rice millers, and arhtiyas — all working together to cheat farmers on the pretext of moisture content. I urge farmers not to return the difference amount between what is shown on the “achi parchi” and what is transferred to their accounts,” said Bhadur Singh Mehla, spokesperson of the BKU (Sir Chhotu Ram).

He further said that on Friday, they had to protest to ensure procurement of the paddy belonging to a farmer named Aman Mehla from Baldi village, whose crop had a moisture content of 17.4 per cent. The miller initially refused to procure the paddy, citing high moisture, and offered only Rs 2,200 per quintal, warning that no buyer would come by evening.

“I refused to sell it below the MSP and went to the market committee office to have the moisture content officially checked. I was shocked to see it was indeed 17.4 per cent, yet they still offered me Rs 2,200 per quintal. When BKU members protested, my crop was finally procured on the MSP,” said Aman Mehla.

Manjeet Chaugama, Indri block president of the BKU (Charuni), said, “The moisture content in paddy is being deliberately misreported to deny farmers the MSP.” He alleged that grain markets had turned into “hubs of loot”, where traders and procurement agencies offered arbitrary prices far below government-declared rates.

“Several farmers have complained that they are being forced to sell their produce at rates fixed by private millers and procurement agencies. They are given “kachi parchi” which shows the rate of paddy to be given to farmers below the MSP, while the actual amount transferred to them is at the MSP. It has happened with majority of farmers, but they do not want to disclose openly fearing confrontation with arhtiyas. We demand that the government ensure paddy procurement strictly at the MSP,” he said.

Amritpal Bugga, another farmer leader, alleged that cuts due to moisture were unjustified since farmers were already under stress due to erratic weather, dwarf disease and low yields. “I agree there is moisture and rice millers’ face deductions from procurement agencies, but the cuts imposed on farmers are much higher than those faced by millers. No paddy is actually being purchased at the MSP, though payments appear so in records. Now, farmers are being asked by arhtiyas to return the excess amount, which is not good,” he said.

In response, Deputy Commissioner Uttam Singh said, “Strict action will be taken against anyone found manipulating MSP payments. Farmers’ trust must never be compromised. Transparency and fairness in procurement are our top priorities.” He also appealed to such farmers to come forward to report below MSP payments for their crop.