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Kerala BJP chief asks Centre to exempt state from directive to stop paddy bonus
Chandrasekhar’s demand comes a day after Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan attacked the BJP-led Union government for asking the state to stop bonus payment
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Kerala chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Monday asked Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to exclude the state from its direction to states to discontinue granting additional bonus given to paddy farmers.
Chandrasekhar’s demand comes a day after Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan attacked the BJP-led Union government for asking the state to stop giving paddy farmers a bonus over and above the minimum support price (MSP).
On Sunday, the chief minister said it had been procuring paddy from the farmers, paying an additional ₹6.31 per kg over the MSP.
On January 9, Union expenditure secretary V Vualnam asked the state government to review its policy on paddy bonus, pointing out that rice stocks had exceeded the requirement for the Public Distribution System (PDS). Vualnam reasoned that continuing to pay the bonus under the circumstances would create a significant and recurring burden on the public exchequer.
Chandrasekhar said the issues cited in the finance ministry’s communication, such as surplus production, excess central stocks and groundwater depletion, were not applicable to Kerala’s agricultural realities.
Kerala has witnessed a long-term decline in paddy acreage and production over the decades and is not a surplus-producing state contributing to excess central stocks, he argued.
“Paddy procurement in Kerala operates under a distinct framework shaped by unique agro-climactic conditions, small landholdings, declining production levels and the objective of sustaining cultivation primarily for food security rather than surplus generation,” the BJP leader said in the letter, asking for the State to be considered separately in view of its specific agricultural and food security considerations.
The state BJP chief’s letter reflects unease within the state unit about the risk of backlash from farmers ahead of assembly elections expected in just a few months.
In 2023-24, rice accounted for 7.1% of the state’s total cropped area.
Figures from 2023 showed that the area under paddy cultivation in the state shrank by 39% over the last two decades.
Agriculture in Kerala is primarily characterised by a mix of smallholder farming and large-scale plantations focused on cash crops such as rubber, tea, coffee, coconut, and other spices. Rice is the state’s primary cereal, but its production volumes are much lower than those of cash crops.
