Assembly elections near, it's raining rice in Chhattisgarh. On Friday, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel announced proudly that the state was now No. 2 in procurement of the grain for the central pool. A day earlier, he tweeted, “The move has helped bring money in the market, there has been zero effect of recession, unemployment rate has been lowest in the country and the increased business added to the GST collection.” With record procurement of 100 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of paddy till January 17 already, and the target of 110 LMT for this year well within reach, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Amarjeet Bhagat exulted: "I feel like a cricketer who scored a century." Going one up, Agriculture Minister Ravindra Choubey called the procurement drive a “masterstroke” for winning the elections due this year. That it might well be one seemed to be acknowledged by the BJP, which is facing an uphill battle in the state, as well. The BJP leaders offered in return that it was the party's government that had “created” the system and the Congress was just reaping the benefits. With 27.07 lakh registered rice farmers in the state that is often called “Dhaan ka katora (bowl of rice)”, another 4.06 lakh registered as labourers on rice farms and a few more thousand people involved in its processing and transportation work – a rough estimate of 90 lakh, in a state with a population of 2.54 crore as per the 2011 Census - paddy is a sure way to many hearts. One of the major factors in the Raman Singh-led BJP government's return to power in 2008 is believed to have been its scheme of Re 1/kg rice to poor families. The BJP government also offered a bonus to farmers per quintal over the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy. It earned Singh the nickname “Chawal wale Baba” and the BJP a third consecutive term in power in 2013. The Singh government's failure to give the bonus for two years - 2014-2016 – got it much flak. While it did make amends the next two years, it could not stave off the Congress win in 2018. The Congress went into those polls with a manifesto promise of an unprecedented Rs 2,500 per quintal price for paddy. The Baghel government kept the promise by giving the additional money over the MSP through the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Scheme. Essentially, under the BJP government from 2013 to 2018, the farmers for their produce of 328.62 LMT rice received Rs 53,045.26 crore. In comparison, from 2018-2019 till 2022, under Congress rule, farmers have produced 446.05 LMT and earned more than double, Rs 1,06,716.28 crore. The rice farmers expect more as they have not yet received dues under the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Scheme for this year (2022-2023). So far for this year, rice farmers have received a bonus of Rs 750 per quintal, above the MSP. Speaking to The Indian Express, Raman Singh said the Congress government had only built on “the entire system of production, procurement and distribution” put in place during his tenures. “We also gave a bonus and bought 79.75 LMT in 2013-2014. Over the years, rice production is increasing, so they (the Congress) are reaping benefits of something we started. Also, the Congress government made a false promise to farmers that they will give the two-year bonus that we had not paid. They have still not given it.” As per the Food Corporation of India’s figures updated last on January 15, for 2022-2023, Chhattisgarh was behind just Punjab in rice procurement for the central pool - at 61.64 LMT to Punjab's 121.91 LMT. Haryana was a distant third at 39.51 LMT. Congress Food and Civil Supplies Minister Bhagat said it was wrong to see the growth in rice production and farmers as just organic. He said that it was due to the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Scheme that the two had increased in the state after 2018. As per the data provided by his department, the total registered rice farmers in 2017-18 were 15.77 lakh, and registered land under rice 24.47 hectares. Till January 10, while the total registered rice farmers in the state stood at 24.95 lakh, the land under paddy was 32.14 hectares. "The number of paddy purchase centres has gone up by 133 to 2,617," Bhagat said. Excess rice might now be proving to be an issue. The Baghel government has approached the Centre for permission and subsidy to start ethanol plants to use the surplus rice, which can be further used to make fuel. Further, they are also encouraging farmers to donate the stubble from the rice farms and discouraging them for burning it, to avoid air pollution. BJP spokesperson Kedar Gupta said the Baghel government had the Centre to thank for its largesse. “The Central government in 2021-2022 bought 91 LMT of paddy from Chhattisgarh at MSP and is in the process of again buying 91 LMT this year at MSP.”
