Overview
- Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has asked the Union government to let Madhya Pradesh exit the Decentralised Procurement scheme and shift wheat and paddy buying to the Food Corporation of India.
- The request, detailed in a letter made public this week, cites delayed reimbursements, stock clearance lags and bank borrowings of about Rs 7,217.7 crore as causes of financial stress.
- Recent procurement volumes cited by the state include roughly 77.74 lakh metric tonnes of wheat and 43.49 lakh metric tonnes of paddy, with the state contributing nearly 26% of national wheat and 6% of rice procurement.
- Food Minister Govind Singh Rajput says farmers will continue to receive MSP with the same registration, centres and purchase through societies, describing the change as primarily an accounting shift.
- Congress leaders, including Kamal Nath and Jitu Patwari, demand a rollback and warn FCI-led buying could trigger mass quality-based rejections and distress sales, while the Centre’s decision on the request is yet to be announced.