Chandrapur: Former minister and MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar has urged Union govt to increase paddy procurement target for Chandrapur district by 3 lakh quintals for the 2025-26 kharif season, citing mounting concerns among farmers.In a letter, Mungantiwar appealed to Union minister for consumer affairs, food and public distribution Pralhad Joshi to intervene urgently and prevent financial losses to paddy growers in the district. He said the current procurement ceiling is grossly inadequate in view of the actual production and registrations.According to district marketing officer’s report, 39 procurement centres have been approved under the minimum support price (MSP) scheme in Chandrapur, with as many as 91,671 farmers registered to sell their produce. Based on the productivity assessment of 11.44 quintals per hectare by the district superintendent agriculture officer, a total of 30.57 lakh quintals of paddy has been recorded on the online procurement system.However, the district has so far received a procurement target of only 5.48 lakh quintals. Of this, 5 lakh quintals have already been procured, and the remaining allocation is expected to be exhausted within two days.Mungantiwar highlighted that despite online registrations, lack of available procurement slots has left an estimated 2 to 3 lakh quintals of paddy lying in the open near procurement centres. Any unseasonal weather or other disruptions could damage the crop, leading to heavy financial losses for farmers.Though the district had initially sought a target of 8 to 10 lakh quintals, no additional quota has yet been sanctioned. Mungantiwar has, therefore, requested the Union minister to direct the concerned authorities to immediately approve at least 3 lakh quintals as an additional procurement target for Chandrapur.
