Uproar in Maharashtra Over Irregularities in Cotton, Soybean Procurement

12-Dec-2025 04:26 PM

Nagpur. Opposition MLAs in Maharashtra staged a walkout in the Assembly, protesting the state government's indifference toward cotton and soybean growers, alleging widespread irregularities in government procurement of these two crucial Kharif crops.

While the Maharashtra Marketing Minister refuted these allegations, stating that government agencies are regularly procuring cotton and soybeans from farmers, an opposition MLA claimed that the Marketing Minister is unaware of the actual situation in the markets.

Opposition leaders alleged that there is a significant gap between the procurement price and the guaranteed price in the markets. Procurement centers for government procurement of cotton have not yet been established in many key areas of the state, while in some other areas,

procurement centers are being delayed. Similarly, wholesale market prices for soybean are significantly low, and the state government is failing to provide farmers with the Minimum Support Price (MSP).

Interestingly, even the ruling party MLAs were not satisfied with the Marketing Minister's answers to opposition leaders' questions and complaints during question hour in the Assembly, and they expressed their displeasure.

Following this, the Speaker of the Assembly announced that a meeting of the concerned MLAs would be held in his chamber, where all the complaints would be seriously discussed.

It is worth noting that Maharashtra is the second largest producer of cotton and soybean in the country, and government procurement is ongoing there.

The central government has authorized the purchase of 18.51 lakh tons of soybean in the state, setting its minimum support price at ₹5,328 per quintal.

However, the pace of government procurement of this important oilseed in the state is very slow. Opposition leaders alleged that the state government is playing a cruel joke on farmers.