Surge in paddy arrivals raises red flags as state hits record purchase

Haryana has concluded the paddy procurement season with a record purchase of 62,08,732.96 MT, significantly surpassing both its estimated target of 54 lakh MT and last year’s procurement of 53,98,661.91 MT. The nearly eight-lakh MT increase comes despite delayed harvesting and lower yield caused by floods, heavy rainfall and crop diseases, prompting the state to intensify inspections amid concerns over unusually high arrivals in several districts.

According to official data, Fatehabad topped the state with 11,02,554.38 MT, up from 743,194.40 MT last year. Karnal followed with 10,36,419.86 MT against 840,370.07 MT last season, while Kaithal recorded 924,984.04 MT, up from 838,934.50 MT and Sirsa saw arrivals rise to 419,116.91 MT from 300,767.85 MT. In Yamunanagar, arrivals increased to 675,923.06 MT from 609,166.77 MT, while Hisar recorded 68,200.95 MT compared to 60,220.16 MT.

Some districts, however, registered lower arrivals than last season. Kurukshetra logged 10,01,001.38 MT, slightly below 10,30,333.29 MT and Ambala recorded 567,189.26 MT against 606,766.65 MT last year. Smaller districts like Palwal, Panipat, Rohtak, Sonepat, Faridabad and Jhajjar reported higher arrivals compared to last year, with Jhajjar showing a notable jump from 93 MT to 1,610.25 MT.

The surge in arrivals, despite reduced production in many regions, caught the attention of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and senior officials. They ordered physical verifications of rice mills, procurement records and grain market gate passes. Sources indicated that authorities suspect paddy and even PDS rice from other states may have entered Haryana’s grain markets to be adjusted against “proxy procurement”.

A senior Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB) official said the possibility “cannot be ruled out”, especially after recent findings. While the rise could partly be attributed to increased sowing of non-basmati varieties, he said “the scale of the surge is unusual, which needs a thorough probe”. He said, “Only a thorough physical verification of all rice mills and cross verification of gate passes with arrival of grains in grain markets will bring the complete truth to light. It clearly points to a deep-rooted nexus exploiting loopholes in the procurement system to commit irregularities.”

Karnal, now the focal point of the investigation, has registered six FIRs exposing a network of “ghost procurement” and diversion of government paddy. A police official involved in the SIT probe said, “Investigations revealed proxy procurement, fraudulent gate-pass generation and false off-site storage claims… We suspect a racket involving arhtiyas, millers, HSAMB staff and officials, and procurement agencies.”

Five arrests have been made so far. Karnal Market Committee secretary Asha Rani and auction recorder Yashpal have been suspended. Hafed DM Amit Sharma and two employees have also been suspended.