The Karnal district administration has established two nakas at Manglora and Shergarh Tapu villages along Haryana-Uttar Pradesh border to curb illegal influx of paddy and the public administration system (PDS) from the neighbouring states. This major step has been taken, followed by reports appearing stating that paddy and PDS rice from UP, Bihar, and several states are being transported into Karnal’s grain markets and rice mills.
According to sources, the arrival of PDS rice and paddy keeps the district administration occupied every year. The PDS rice and paddy from various states recovered from rice mills were purchased at lower prices and were used to counter proxy procurement, along with the aid of fake gate passes.
Several incidents, including fake gate passes, were reported. The official authorities suspect that rice meant for the PDS could be passed off as custom-milled rice (CMR) supplied to the state in the previous year, too.
Sources stated that traders have manipulated price gaps and loopholes to adjust cheaper paddy or rice and sell it at the minimum support price (MSP).
Apart from this, the Deputy Commissioner directed market committee secretaries not to allow paddy without valid gate passes or consignments originating from outside Haryana in mandis.
Even some traders, who are required to return 67 per cent rice per 100 kg of paddy to the government under the Custom Milled Rice (CMR), have been substituting low-quality paddy and the PDS rice sourced from outside Haryana ,cheating both the system and the state exchequer. They claimed that paddy purchased at lower prices is sent to the government at the MSP of Rs 2,389 per quintal after processing as rice against the paddy assigned to them, with the aid of fake registrations on the Meri Fasal Mera Byora (MFMB) portal. Using fake farmer IDs and manipulating per-acre production data, these traders gain profits of Rs 400–Rs 600 per quintal, subsequently covering transportation costs.