Centre permits State to procure 1.01 lakh tonnes of Bengal gram

Accusing the Congress government in Karnataka of failure to protect farmers’ interest, Union Minister for Agriculture Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday granted permission to Karnataka to procure 1,01,340 tonnes of Bengal gram under the market intervention scheme by paying Minimum Support Prices (MSP).

Mr. Chouhan, who was in Bengaluru to coach the Opposition BJP and JD (S) members on the VB-G RAM-G Act, told media persons that a sum of ₹ 595.37 would be granted to procure the above quantum of Bengal gram.

Launching a tirade at the Congress government in Karnataka, he alleged that the Congress dispensation, which has been accusing the Centre of showing discrimination in terms of granting permission for procuring crops under the MSP, had acted against the interests of farmers by failing to meet the procurement target with respect to Tur Dal and Tothapuri mangoes.

“Though the Centre had allowed it to procure three lakh tonnes of toor dal under MSP scheme in 2024-25 when the State witnessed a bumper harvest of the crop, the State government procured only 2.16 lakh tonnes. It could have stood with farmers in distress by procuring the full quantum of crop allotted to it,” he said.

“Similarly, the Centre granted permission to procure 2.50 lakh tonnes of tothapuri variety of mango to bail out mango growers who were in a dire situation due to crash in demand. But the Congress government in Karnataka barely managed to procure 1.37 lakh tonnes,” he alleged.