“The request for relaxation in wheat procurement due to untimely rainfall was received (from the state) on 9th April 2026. Promptly thereafter, teams were deputed on 10th April to assess the situation across all districts,” Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi said on X on Friday.
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“Based on field inputs, the Centre Govt led by PM Shri @NarendraModi ji has approved relaxations for wheat procurement under the Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) 2026-27 in all districts of Punjab and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.”
Joshi said the decision will help reduce hardship for farmers and prevent any distress sale of wheat. The relaxations will be applicable from the commencement of RMS 2026-27.
Meanwhile, a Punjab government statement on Friday, quoting Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak, said that due to the persistent efforts of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the central government has provided relaxations to Punjab in respect of the wheat procurement season 2026-27.
“The limit of lustre loss in wheat has been relaxed up to 70 per cent across the state and the UT (Chandigarh), at par with Haryana,” it said.With regard to the shrivelled and broken grains, relaxation has been given up to 15 per cent against the existing limit of 6 per cent under uniform specifications for the entire state.
While chairing a meeting through video conferencing to review procurement operations, Punjab’s Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Kataruchak exhorted the District Food Supply Controllers (DFSCs) and senior officers to leave no stone unturned in ensuring a successful and hassle-free procurement season for all stakeholders.
The minister added that lifting should be ensured within 72 hours of the produce being procured.
He also directed the officials to make sure that the payments for the procured crops must be credited into the accounts of the farmers within the time frame of 48 hours. The process must be carried out with utmost transparency.
On Thursday, opposition parties SAD and Congress slammed the AAP government, accusing it of failing to secure relaxation in specifications for moisture content in wheat procurement from the Centre and claimed that because of this, the crop was not being purchased in mandis.
The leaders of both these parties said farmers first suffered destruction of their crops due to rain and hailstorms, and now they are suffering because procurement agencies are not purchasing the wheat crop due to excess moisture.
Targeting the AAP dispensation over the wheat procurement issue, Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia had said the Punjab government delayed in writing to the Centre for securing relaxation in specifications for wheat purchase, while other states like Haryana and Rajasthan had already got relaxation.