Maharashtra: Dhule farmers unearth Rs 2,000 crore MSP scam

An alleged scam concerning Minimum Support Price MSP to the tune of Rs 2000 crore has been unearthed by a farmersrsquo association from Dhule in northern Maharashtra The farmersrsquo association in their petition has claimed to have found major discrepancies in the MSP fixed by the Central authorities and those offered by APMC traders to the farmersThe farmers claimed that APMC Dhule and the agricultural and marketing ministry have not been adhering to the MSP while procuring the farm produce As a result farmers end up selling almost 40 per cent to 45 per cent lower than the MSP to traders thus leading to financial losses for farmers They claim that failure to get an appropriate price for their produce leads to financial distressMohanish Thorat advocate representing farmers in HCThe situation is so grim that a farmer Hiralal Patil 84 from Maglur Amalner taluka Dhule has been receiving from the local district administration his income certificate with a minus figure since 201718Irked by this exploitation and to fight for farmers rights a civil writ petition before the division bench of Bombay High Court at Aurangabad was filed by Satya Shodhak Samaj Sangh and the court has recently issued notices to almost nine different state and central bodies including APMC Dhule The matter is slated for hearing on July 22The issueAdvocate Mohanish Thorat representing the whistleblower farmers attached to Satya Shodhak Samaj Sangh Dhule said ldquoThe grievance of the petitioner is that the state government has authorised bodies established for purchasing the crops from farmers at MSP The final MSP rates approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs CCEA the Central government tend to be lower than those recommended by the Maharashtra State Agricultural Prices Commission MSAPC However the market committee and retail traders purchase the crops from farmers below this MSP thereby duping farmers out of a legitimate price for the producerdquoHistorical contextAccording to Advocate Thorat no official pricefixing authority existed until 2015 State Cropping Price Committee recommendations were not mandatory A Government Resolution GR on April 23 2015 established the Maharashtra State Agricultural Prices Commission with agricultural experts and officials and as per the GR the prices are recommended based on geographical and weather conditionsldquoInterestingly the GR also mandates that the state government compensate farmers for the difference between Central MSP and state recommendations However since 2015 no compensation has been paid to farmers in Maharashtra despite the difference Moreover section 32D of The Maharashtra Agriculture Produce Marketing Regulation Act 1963 mandates market committees to prevent purchases below MSP but the same has been overlooked for personal gains by traders operating from this APMC marketrdquo said ThoratNumbers speakSeveral representations were filed to highlight the cheating of farmers with substantial monetary losses eg R394 crore only for maize in October 2022 and pertain to one APMC at Amalner Dhule The figure for the entire state is double the yearly budget of the stateIn Maharashtra there are 305 Agricultural Produce Market Committees APMC so 305 times Rs 394 crore Rs 1203 crore only for maize and that too in one monthRights of farmersThe significant financial shortfall should rightfully belong to the farmers The state government is responsible for protecting farmers rights but appears to support private traders Though the farmers plea for a private complaint in the local Judicial Magistrate court seeking FIR against those guilty yielded a result as the court found prima facie truth in the farmersrsquo complaint and had directed the local police to register FIR but still there was no progress made by the police in arresting or probing against the private influential traders named in the FIR said advocate ThoratAdvocate Thorat said ldquoAs contemplated in the Maharashtra Agriculture Produce Marketing Regulation Act 1963 under Section 32D of the said act states that ldquoIt shall be the duty of the Market Committee to make such arrangements and to take such steps as may be prescribed to prevent purchases of agricultural produce in the market area below the support price fixed by the governmentrdquoWhat farmers sayVishwasrao Patil 60 a whistleblower and petitioner said ldquoThe farmers in Maharashtra are facing the worst financial distress due to the exploitation by traders These traders are procuring the farm produce at a price below the MSP We are hopeful that farmers will get justice as we have faith in the judiciary and the courtrdquoHiralal Patil 84 a farmer turned activist and petitioner said ldquoI have got a minus income proof certificate from our tehsildar and that itself explains my financial status Today farmers like me are struggling to earn a fair income from our crops irrespective of us putting our best efforts into cultivating We need immediate government interventionWhat nextThe petitioner has requested the court to issue a writ of mandamus or issue direction to the respondents to start the MSP centre prior to the commencement of every harvesting seasonFor Kharif crops the harvesting season starts on October 1 and January 1 for rabi crops Please have been made to adhere to section 32 D of Maharashtra Agriculture Produce Marketing Regulation Act 1963 so that the state government could compensate the farmers the difference in amount to date from 2015 so as to avoid further deaths of farmersRs 394 crAlleged losses suffered by maize farmers in Oct 2022The scam explained in numbersSrNoCropsMinimumSupportPrice202223AgriculturalProduceCommitteeAmalnerAvgPurchaseRates202223DifferencebetweenMSPampActualPurchaseperquintalCrops available in the market forsale quintalTotalDifference1Jowar For October 2022Rs2970Rs2443Rs5271000 quintalRs5270002Moog For Oct 2022Rs7755Rs6793Rs962381quintalRs3665223Maize for Oct 2022Rs1962Rs1715Rs24772152quintalRs394671444Urad For October 2022Rs6600Rs5415Rs1185134quintalRs158790