The farmers’ body claims influential government officials, middlemen and a well-established procurement mafia have turned grain markets across Haryana into ‘safe havens of corruption’
NEW DELHI — In a major embarrassment for the BJP-led Haryana government, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Monday alleged the unearthing of a massive, multi-layered procurement scam involving senior officials, powerful procurement cartels and political functionaries. The farmers’ body has demanded a judicial inquiry monitored by a sitting judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, accusing the state of trying to suppress the scandal.
Terming it one of the “biggest procurement frauds in recent years,” the SKM said influential government officials, middlemen and a well-established procurement mafia have turned grain markets across Haryana into “safe havens of corruption.” It alleged that paddy from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh is being diverted to Haryana and procured on paper at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of ₹2,369 per quintal, even though farmers in those states were forced to sell at distress prices ranging between ₹1,400 and ₹1,600.
The SKM squarely blamed the Nayab Singh Saini-led government in Haryana and the Narendra Modi government at the Centre for the “criminal ghost procurement scam,” alleging collusion involving FCI, HAFED, the Haryana State Warehousing Corporation, and the state food and supplies department.
Despite the arrest of at least five individuals in Karnal and the suspension of 38 mandi secretaries along with several other officials, the SKM said no action has been taken against influential senior bureaucrats or political appointees. “The government is arresting small actors while shielding the masterminds,” the SKM claimed.
Media reports and verification drives have discovered massive shortages in godowns and rice mills, indicating that stocks recorded on paper never actually existed. In several districts, fraudulent procurement of bajra has also come to light, further widening the scope of the scam.
Ghost Procurement
In a startling revelation, the SKM noted that Haryana’s recorded paddy arrivals this year have surpassed last year’s figures, despite heavy losses from floods and crop diseases. “The only explanation is large-scale manipulation,” the farmers’ group said. Officials allegedly fabricated records to show MSP procurement of crops that were neither grown, nor delivered to mandis.
Truckloads of paddy from other states were allegedly routed into Haryana, purchased cheaply, and shown as procured at MSP in the names of Haryana farmers. This was enabled by tampering with government portals to create fake gate passes and OTPs.
‘Double Engine Govt Nexus’
The broad platform of farmers also accused the BJP governments in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar of running a coordinated system that enables traders and middlemen to profit off the MSP mechanism. With Bihar having no functional mandis and Uttar Pradesh only a few procurement centres, farmers there are compelled to sell at throwaway prices. The diverted grain is then shown as Haryana produce, allowing millers and officials to pocket the difference.
Activists estimate the total value of the scam to be in the “thousands of crores,” involving payments to transport contractors for grain movement that never happened—often using fake vehicle numbers, including cars listed as trucks.
‘Sophisticated Corruption’
The farmers’ union also accused the Haryana government of weaponising agricultural portals such as Meri Fasal Mera Beora and the Kshatipurti crop compensation portal to facilitate fraud. These systems, they said, have become tools for generating fake entries and payments.
Under pressure from widespread farmer protests, multiple FIRs have been registered and Special Investigation Teams (SITs) set up across districts. However, the SKM said these moves appear to be “damage control,” not genuine accountability.
Call for Nationwide Action
The SKM has urged the chief ministers of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to take strict action against traders purchasing below MSP and to immediately open procurement centres to stop distress sales.
It has also called upon farmers in Haryana and neighbouring states to launch local struggles to demand full and guaranteed MSP payment, opening of procurement centres and enactment of a legal guarantee for MSP at C2+50%
“The scam shows the MSP system has been hijacked to enrich intermediaries while farmers are left with crumbs,” the SKM said, reiterating its demand for an independent judicial probe into the entire procurement chain.
