Haryana seals borders as wheat prices crash in neighbouring states

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 19

With huge quantities of wheat from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan finding its way into Haryana owing to crashing of prices there, the state government on Thursday ordered sealing of its porous borders with these states.

The Palwal grain market, that has proximity to these three states, has been closed for further procurement after it was discovered that 3.73 lakh metric tonne of wheat has already been procured against 2.98 lakh MT purchased during the entire season last year. Additional Chief Secretary (Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs) Ram Niwas on Thursday wrote to DGP BS Sandhu, requesting him to seal border entry points to prevent unauthorised movement of wheat into Haryana’s grain markets.

“We have reports that some traders in grain markets of Delhi, UP and Rajasthan, where the prices of wheat have dipped Rs 150 to Rs 200 below the MSP, have been making an easy buck by selling wheat purchased from there in our mandis,” Ram Niwas told The Tribune.

Sources said besides Palwal, reports of wheat coming from other states have also been received from Sonepat and Karnal. The authorities in Karnal cancelled the licences of six arhtiyas from Taraori town after they were found bringing wheat from UP for sale in the mandi.

Karnal District Food and Supplies Controller (DFSC) Kushal Boora said they were caught by a team of officials with wheat brought in an unauthorised manner from UP and hence their licences were cancelled by the Market Committee authorities. 

Sources said against the MSP of Rs 1,735 per quintal, wheat was available for Rs 1,550 to Rs 1,650 in the open market in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan because of poor government procurement.

The difference in rates is a huge temptation for traders, as the arrival of an additional 1 lakh MT wheat in Palwal means that some unscrupulous traders might have earned around Rs 20 crore, sources said.

Arrival of wheat from neighbouring states is not a new phenomenon, as Haryana has been facing this problem almost year after year. On March 20, Ram Niwas had written to all DCs that the huge arrival of wheat from bordering states, particularly UP, cannot be ruled out, as all districts of the state, barring Rohtak, had boundaries with some other state.

Again, during a video-conferencing with DCs and District Food and Supplies Controllers on March 26, the ACS emphasised the need to plug unauthorised arrival from UP to grain markets in Yamunanagar, Panipat, Palwal and Karnal districts.

Meanwhile, 50.34 lakh MT of wheat had been procured in different grain markets of the state till Wednesday.