Nearly 400 Paddy Mandis Shut in Punjab as Buying Hits Centre's Limitਖਰੀਦ ਸੀਮਾ ਕਾਰਨ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਵਿੱਚ ਕਰੀਬ 400 ਧਾਨ ਮੰਡੀਆਂ ਬੰਦ

Punjab's Mandi Board has shut nearly 400 paddy procurement mandis across six districts in the middle of the harvest season, in a move to keep total paddy buying within the Centre's approved limit of 180 lakh tonnes. The closures, in Tarn Taran, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala districts, with some mandis in Jalandhar also partly closed, have left farmers waiting with unsold crop and triggered protests on the roads.

The decision was taken on the directions of the state Food and Civil Supplies Department. The agriculture department has projected non-basmati paddy production of about 220 lakh tonnes this season, well above the Centre's 180 lakh tonne procurement target, so officials began closing mandis that had already filled their allotted quotas. About 130 lakh tonnes of paddy had already arrived in Punjab's mandis since procurement began on 1 October, at the minimum support price of Rs 2,461 per quintal.

Why mandis were shut

The state government has received a cash credit limit of Rs 42,787 crore for paddy procurement, but the limit has been allowed for only 180 lakh tonnes. Procurement was running through 1,872 mandis and 761 temporary procurement centres, and the Mandi Board moved to stop buying at centres that had reached their quota. At Banur mandi in Mohali, buying stopped with about 7,000 quintals of paddy still unsold. The mandi's buying limit was 310,980 quintals, and it had already bought 310,839 quintals.

By 3 November, 142.50 lakh tonnes of paddy had reached Punjab's mandis and 137.10 lakh tonnes had been bought. Mandi Board chairman Harchand Singh Barsat said no farmer had faced trouble selling paddy, but farmers at closed mandis say their crop is lying unsold.

Farmers block road in protest

On Wednesday, farmers and commission agents (arhtiyas) blocked the Ferozepur-Ludhiana road near Pyareana village, scattering paddy on the bridge and raising slogans against the state government. They said procurement agencies had stopped buying at their mandis for about a week, leaving stocks piled up and farmers spending sleepless nights at the mandis. The protest ran from 10 am to 2.30 pm and was called off after officials from the Food and Supplies Department assured them the matter would be addressed.

The Kisan Sabha, a farmers' group, has warned it may block a national highway if paddy buying does not start again. The warning underlines how quickly the mandi closures have become a political problem for the Bhagwant Mann government, with the 2027 assembly elections now months away and paddy procurement one of the most sensitive issues in rural Punjab.

A storage crunch behind the cap

The buying cap sits on top of a storage bottleneck. Punjab holds about 265 lakh metric tonnes of foodgrain against total storage capacity of about 249 lakh tonnes, with old wheat and rice still occupying mills and yards as fresh paddy arrives. The Centre extended the deadline for delivering custom-milled rice from last season's crop to 30 November, while mills are still milling around 6 lakh tonnes of old paddy and the Food Corporation of India has only around 2 lakh tonnes of space available.

The state government has repeatedly asked the Centre to move more grain out of Punjab and to raise the procurement target, so that the remaining crop can be bought. Until that happens, farmers in the six affected districts face the prospect of waiting at closed mandis or selling to private buyers at prices below the support price.

Why has Punjab shut nearly 400 paddy mandis?

To keep total paddy procurement within the Centre's approved limit of 180 lakh tonnes. The agriculture department expects about 220 lakh tonnes of production this season, so mandis that had filled their quotas were closed.

Which districts are affected?

Tarn Taran, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala, with some mandis in Jalandhar also partly closed.

What are farmers demanding?

Immediate resumption of buying at the closed mandis. The Kisan Sabha has warned it may block a national highway if procurement does not restart.