Raipur
The Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly witnessed stormy scenes on Tuesday as the opposition Indian National Congress accused the state government of massive corruption in paddy procurement. Dubbing the alleged irregularities as the ‘Muswa’ (rat) scam, the opposition claimed that a significant portion of the paddy procured during the 2024-25 Kharif season was either siphoned off by corrupt officials, allowed to rot due to poor storage, or blamed on rodent infestation.
The Congress alleged that the state exchequer suffered a loss of about ₹8,500 crore. During the uproar, 30 Congress MLAs were suspended from the House, though the suspension was later revoked.
Paddy procurement and storage under fire
Leader of Opposition Charan Das Mahant raised the issue during Zero Hour, alleging that the government failed to ensure proper storage and security of paddy purchased at Minimum Support Price (MSP).
“According to the department’s citizen report, out of 149.25 lakh metric tonnes of paddy procured in the 2024-25 season, 22.71 lakh quintals remain undisposed. This stock is no longer of Fair Average Quality (FAQ) as it has been destroyed by rats, sold by corrupt officials, or damaged due to poor storage,” Mahant alleged.
He further claimed that 16.03 lakh quintals were missing from Markfed storage centres and 6.67 lakh quintals from procurement centres.
Government denies corruption charges
Responding to the allegations, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Dayaldas Baghel rejected claims of mismanagement or corruption.
He informed the House that the state had procured 149.25 lakh tonnes of paddy from 25.49 lakh farmers.
“The government has paid ₹46,277 crore to farmers, including ₹34,349 crore as MSP and ₹11,928 crore under the Krishak Unnati Yojana. Chhattisgarh is the first state to provide a price of ₹3,100 per quintal including bonus,” the minister said.
Baghel clarified that the deadline for disposal of the 2024-25 stock is 30 April 2026. He also refuted the ‘rat’ theory, saying cover and pest-control measures were already in place.
According to the minister, 1.60 lakh tonnes remain in storage centres and 67,000 tonnes at procurement centres, which is less than 3% of total procurement.
However, he confirmed that notices have been issued to 78 storage-centre in-charges and District Marketing Officers, while FIRs have been lodged against two officials and two others suspended.
Uproar over land encroachment and mining
The House also witnessed heated exchanges over illegal land encroachment. Former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel demanded stricter laws and immediate action against encroachers.
Dissatisfied with the reply from Forest Minister Kedar Kashyap, Congress members staged a walkout.
Meanwhile, MLA Kunwar Singh Nishad questioned the allocation of nearly 200 acres of land to Godawari Power and Ispat Limited for waste dumping in Bhanupratappur.
Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai clarified that the allocation followed guidelines of the Ministry of Mines and reports of the Geological Survey of India, which confirmed that the land was non-mineral bearing.
Advertising spends and vehicle penalties
In a written reply to BJP MLA Sushant Shukla, CM Vishnu Deo Sai shared details of advertising expenditure over the last five years.
The government paid ₹4.24 crore to National Herald and ₹3.06 crore to Sunday Navjivan under the 2019 advertising rules.
Separately, Transport Minister Kedar Kashyap informed the House that 77,810 cases were registered against vehicles operating without permits, insurance, or carrying overloads in the last three years, resulting in a recovery of ₹42.79 crore.
