Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Friday met Union Food and Public Distribution Minister Pralhad Joshi in New Delhi and secured key relief measures for farmers and mandis, with the Centre agreeing to run special trains to lift 155 lakh metric tonnes of foodgrains lying in Punjab and ease the state’s acute storage crisis ahead of the Rabi Marketing Season.
Alongside this immediate intervention, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann pressed for resolution of structural issues burdening Punjab, including higher Cash Credit interest rates, ₹9,000 crore pending under the Rural Development Fund, compensation for hailstorm-hit crops, and long-pending demands of arhtiyas, with the Union Minister responding positively and assuring concrete follow-up, including a Secretary-level mechanism to address pending dues.
Sharing a few snippets from the meeting on X, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann stated: “Today, in Delhi, I held an important meeting with Union Food Minister Pralhad Joshi ji. During this time, we discussed in detail several key issues related to Punjab, including the demands of the arhtiyas.”
The Chief Minister further wrote: “During the meeting, critical matters were raised before the Centre, such as the swift lifting of 15.5 million metric tonnes of wheat and rice lying in Punjab, and the immediate payment of the outstanding ₹9,000 crore under RDF. At the same time, a demand was made to reduce the high interest rates imposed on states under the Cash Credit Limit and to consider the arhtiyas’ demands related to the Centre on a priority basis. In addition, an appeal was made to promptly resolve issues concerning the EPF of mandi laborers, and a demand was also raised to provide farmers with the due compensation for losses caused by unseasonal rains.”
“I am pleased that the Union Minister ji has responded very positively to all these issues. We remain continuously committed to safeguarding the interests of Punjab,” the post concluded.
Flagging the acute shortage of storage space, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann said, “180.88 LMT of food grains (151.20 LMT rice and 29.67 LMT wheat) are already stored in the state’s covered godowns, whereas the total available covered storage capacity is approximately 183 LMT (173 LMT covered godowns + 10 LMT wheat silos). As a result, only 0.50 LMT covered space is available for rice and 1.75 LMT silo space for wheat.”
He added, “The Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) 2026–27 has begun in the state from April 1, 2026, during which procurement of 130–132 LMT of wheat is expected.”
Highlighting the existing stock burden, the Chief Minister stated, “Out of the previous year’s wheat stock of 38 LMT, about 8.71 LMT is already lying in CAP or open storage in the state, which has led to a shortage of scientific storage space, and approximately 40 LMT of wheat will have to be stored in suboptimal conditions.”
Raising the issue of slow movement of food grains, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann said, “Our government has been consistently requesting adequate movement of wheat and rice to create the necessary storage space for rice procurement and storage. However, over the past several months, the average movement from the state has been only about 5 lakh metric tonnes per month for both wheat and rice.”
He urged, “At least 12 lakh metric tonnes each of wheat and rice be moved every month, or alternatively, arrangements such as enhanced distribution of food grains under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) be made, as was done during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially considering the hardships faced by the general public amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia.” He added, “This will help ensure smooth procurement operations during RMS 2026–27 and expedite the milling of paddy for KMS 2025–26.”
Raising another issue, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann noted, “Funds for procurement are arranged through a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India, as authorized by the Reserve Bank of India.” He added, “The State Bank of India is charging an interest rate that is 0.5% higher than the recovery rate applicable to the Food Corporation of India, and is levying interest on a monthly compounding basis.”
He further said, “However, in the provisional cost sheets issued by the Government of India for each season, the state is allowed only simple interest at Food Corporation of India (FCI)’s interest rate. As a result, the State of Punjab is incurring an avoidable loss of approximately ₹500 crore every season.
He added, “We have raised this issue with the Union Finance Minister as well. The third issue is related to the Rural Development Fund. We have repeatedly said that the roads leading to our mandis need to be constructed, and we even passed a Bill in the Vidhan Sabha stating that this money will be used solely for repairing mandis, modernising mandis, and improving mandi roads. However, the previous government led by Captain Amrinder Singh misused these funds, due to which the money has been withheld.”
He further said, “We have already approached the Supreme Court of India on this issue and the matter is currently sub judice. Instead of prolonging litigation, the Union Government should release Punjab’s rightful dues. This is Punjab’s share and Punjab’s right, and we are only demanding what legitimately belongs to it.”
He added that if there is any constraint on the Centre’s budget, the funds can be released in installments, in any manner deemed appropriate, but the amount has now reached ₹9000 crore and continues to be withheld.
The Chief Minister added, “We strongly raised this issue as well, and they assured us that in the coming days, a meeting at the Secretary level will be convened to create a mechanism through which these funds will start being released.”
He urged, “Punjab be allowed to claim interest charges on a monthly compounding basis as per the interest rate levied by the State Bank of India on Cash Credit Limit (CCL), instead of the interest rate of the Food Corporation of India.”
Speaking on the issue of arhtiyas, he said, “The main issue was that the arhtiyas are demanding 2.5% commission, whereas the Government of India has fixed their commission at the current rates.”
Dwelling on the issue of arhtiya commission, Bhagwant Singh Mann said, “Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD), Government of India, had fixed the arhtiya (commission agent) commission at ₹45.88 per quintal for paddy for the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2020–21 and ₹46.00 per quintal for wheat for the Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) 2021–22.”
He added, “Since then, the same fixed commission has been continued every year for both paddy and wheat, which has led to considerable dissatisfaction among arhtiyas, and the State Government has been consistently writing to the Central Government to increase the arhtiya commission.”
The Chief Minister added, “The Ministry of Food, Government of India has made a marginal increase in the commission of ₹4.75 per quintal for wheat (from ₹46 to ₹50.75) and ₹4.73 per quintal for paddy (from ₹45.88 to ₹50.61), which will be applicable from RMS 2026–27.” He added, “However, this nominal increase has not been accepted by the arhtiyas, and they have demanded that, as per the Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1961 and the rules framed thereunder, the arhtiya commission should be fixed at 2.5% of MSP.”
He urged, “The Government of India, through DFPD, should review this negligible increase in arhtiya commission and approve commission at the rate of 2.5% of MSP in accordance with the Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1961.”
Highlighting another concern, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann said, “For the past several years, the Food Corporation of India has been withholding 30% of the mandi labour charges payable for the crops procured by it each season due to issues related to EPF.” He added, “As a result, approximately ₹50 crore belonging to arhtiyas is lying with FCI, which has further increased their financial burden.”
The Chief Minister stated, “Meanwhile, the state agencies are making payments to arhtiyas after obtaining undertakings or affidavits from them, stating that if any liability is determined by the EPF authorities, the arhtiyas will fulfill the same.” He asserted, “Therefore, there is no justification for withholding 30% of the labour charges on account of EPF,” and urged the Union Minister to direct FCI to release the payments by obtaining affidavits, similar to the practice followed by the state agencies.
Reiterating Punjab’s key role in the national food procurement system, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann emphasised that timely intervention by the Centre on these issues is essential to ensure smooth procurement, protect farmers’ interests, and prevent further financial strain on the state.
