Chandigarh: The Haryana assembly on Friday witnessed heated exchanges between the opposition parties, particularly the Congress, and the treasury benches over the alleged Rs 5,000-crore scam in paddy procurement during a calling attention motion.The opposition insisted on a CBI probe into the matter, while Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini dismissed the allegations, accusing the opposition of misleading the House with unverified claims by raising the issue through a calling attention motion.At one point, chief minister Nayab Saini and senior Congress MLA Ashok Arora engaged in a sharp verbal exchange over the corruption charges. “The paddy procurement scam has reached Rs 5,000 crore; there should be an immediate CBI probe,” said Arora. In response, Saini remarked that “scams worth crores of rupees used to take place during the Congress regime.”Reacting to this, Arora told the chief minister, “If anything happened during the Congress regime, send those cases to the CBI as well. But this procurement scam should also be handed over to the central agency for investigation.”Meanwhile, taking a dig at Arora, PWD minister Ranbir Singh Gangwa said that Arora was demanding a probe into the “scams” of the Congress regime because he was not part of the party when it was in power.Although Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda was absent on Friday, other Congress legislators, including Geeta Bhukkal, Aditya Surjewala, and Shalley Chaudhary, along with INLD MLA Aditya Devi Lal, also raised the issue and demanded a probe into the alleged paddy procurement scam. As per the allegations, some ghost procurement of paddy took place in the recent procurement season.However, accepting some “systematic gaps” and “irregularities”, the CM said that, beginning with the upcoming Rabi and Kharif marketing seasons 2026–27, several technology-driven measures will be introduced, including geo-tagged gate passes, automatic number plate recognition for vehicles, geo-fencing of mandis, warehouses and rice mills, and the installation of CCTV cameras at entry and exit points of mandis.“Physical verification will now be strictly conducted within the geo-fenced framework to ensure that designated officials carry out inspections on-site, thereby eliminating any possibility of paperwork-based formalities or manipulation. He further informed that on December 11, 2025, the per-acre yield limit was revised to ensure better alignment between actual production and procurement data,” said the CM in his detailed reply on the issue.Outrightly rejecting the opposition’s demand for a CBI probe, the CM said that complaints of irregularities were received in some mandis. During October and November 2025, joint committees were constituted in all districts, and physical verification of paddy stored in rice mills was conducted. Wherever prima facie irregularities were found, 12 FIRs were registered against the concerned officers, employees, commission agents and rice millers. It was also informed that the procurement agencies initiated departmental inquiries against 75 officers and employees, out of which 28 were suspended. A recovery of over Rs 6.3 crore was made from rice millers and deposited into the govt treasury, said the CM.The CM invited constructive suggestions, assuring that the govt remains open to positive input aimed at strengthening the procurement process.He informed the House that while the system continued for years, his govt introduced structural reforms. From the arrival of paddy in the mandi to the return of rice from rice millers, checks are now placed at every stage. The CM said that earlier irregularities continued and no one was caught, but under the new system, any irregularity is detected and strict action is taken. He further asserted that the govt is continuously strengthening the system and will make it completely foolproof.Saini also informed the House that during the Kharif season 2025-26, state procurement agencies procured 62.13 lakh metric tonnes of non-basmati paddy at minimum support price from over 3 lakh farmers. As per the Meri Fasal Mera Byora portal of the agriculture and farmers’ welfare department, a total of 30.17 lakh acres under non-basmati paddy was verified in the previous season, and estimated production was assessed at 97.8 lakh metric tonnes.The CM said the Govt of India assigned the state a target of 8 lakh metric tonnes of Custom Milled Rice (CMR), permitting up to 10% broken rice.
