Punjab News Daily
New Delhi/Chandigarh, April 10

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, Rs 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 Rs 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.”