Chandigarh, February 13
Under the leadership of BJP Punjab President Sunil Jakhar and National General Secretary Tarun Chugh, a delegation of Punjab’s Sheller, Arhtiya and Flour Mill Associations met Union Food Supply Minister Shri Pralhad Joshi. State General Secretary Dayal Singh Sodhi and State Cell Incharge Ranjam Kamra were also present on the occasion. During the meeting, the delegation urged the Minister to resolve the demands of these organizations at the earliest.
On this occasion, Sunil Jakhar said that Union Minister Pralhad Joshi listened to all the demands sympathetically and assured that they would be resolved soon. He stated that these stakeholders play an important role in Punjab’s agricultural sector and economy, and that some of the issues need to be resolved by the Punjab Government.
Jakhar said that the state government’s policy regarding fortified rice has caused distress to sheller owners. During the Kharif Marketing Season 2025–26, Punjab rice millers are required to deliver approximately 105 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of rice to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) for distribution under the central pool. Out of this, around 85 LMT is to be supplied as fortified rice, which requires Fortified Rice Kernels (FRK).
The state government issues tenders for empanelment of FRK manufacturers and procures FRK from them to provide to rice millers for blending with rice for fortification. Jakhar said that widespread dissatisfaction, concern, and anger prevail among more than 5,000 rice millers because they are not receiving FRK on time, which is preventing them from supplying rice on schedule. In the coming hot months, paddy stored since October 2025 may become difficult to convert into good-quality rice, leading to potential financial losses.
Therefore, the delegation demanded that since the Central Government has sufficient fortified rice stocks to meet distribution needs for the next two years, Punjab should be allocated at least 20–25 LMT CMR quota, including 25 per cent broken rice, to reduce pressure on FRK supply.
They also demanded that the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) should be directed to expedite the FRK testing process in its laboratories so that FRK is made available on time. Additional staff should be deployed if necessary, regular monitoring of rice movement out of Punjab should be ensured to speed up lifting and create adequate space for fresh deliveries, a permanent mechanism should be announced for rational fixation of FRK procurement rates to avoid such situations in the future, Automatic Grain Analyzer (AGA) machines should be implemented at all FCI depots to ensure grain quality, reduce human intervention, and curb corruption and labour and transportation charges for rice, as provided by the Centre, should be ensured to be paid to the mills.
Speaking about the demands of the Arhtiya Association, it was stated that more than 50,000 arhtiyas play a crucial role in the state’s marketing infrastructure. However, fixing their commission has created difficulties, especially as inflation and other expenses are continuously rising. The demand was made to restore the 2.5 per cent commission. They also demanded the early release of ₹50 crore withheld by FCI in the name of EPF, and clearance of pending commission dues for the year 2023–24.
The Flour Mill Association also shared its concerns with the Union Minister. On this occasion, the Union Minister accepted the invitation of the party president and assured that he would visit Punjab soon.
