Mumbai, May 4 (PTI) A technical problem in the money transfer system of the Maharashtra state marketing department has delayed the payment to several tur (pigeon pea) farmers, an official has said.

Although many growers have received messages confirming the transfer of funds against the procurement of their produce, the credits have yet to reflect in their bank accounts, said the official.

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The official from the state marketing department, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said, “The glitch will be resolved shortly, and the funds for tur procurement will be deposited in farmers' accounts. Delays sometimes occur due to the rush at the end of the financial year.”

The state government has fixed the procurement price for tur at Rs 7,550 per quintal, which is higher than the prevailing market rates. This has encouraged more farmers to sell their produce to government-run centres, resulting in a surge of registrations.

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The official added that the high volume of registrations has partially overwhelmed the system.

According to the data from the state marketing department, the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) and the National Cooperative Consumers Federation (NCCF) have procured approximately 6.5 lakh quintals of tur from Maharashtra so far.

Another official said that while 92,805 farmers had registered to sell tur to NAFED alone, the pulses from around 30,000 farmers have been purchased. He said similar disparities between registrations and actual procurement also exist at other tur procuring agencies across the state.

Farmers have voiced concerns over the delays in the payment.

Nimbaji Lakhade, a farmer from Buldhana district, told PTI, “I sold tur on March 9 and 24 at the government-designated centres and completed all required documentation. However, I have not received any payment to date.”

He added that many farmers rely on this income for essential expenses such as marriages or farm maintenance, and the delay in payment has caused considerable hardship to them.

Officials said farmers have demanded that the tur procurement deadline, which was previously set for 30 April, be extended. Many farmers are keen to sell to government agencies as it is more lucrative than selling the pulse in the open market.

At the national level, the Union government has committed to procure 13.22 lakh tonnes of tur from nine states, including Maharashtra. It has also announced plans to create a buffer stock of 10 lakh tonnes to help stabilise domestic prices.

Government data shows that the area under tur cultivation in 2024 increased by 14 per cent compared to the previous year, with national production estimated at around 35 lakh tonnes.

During the launch of a tur dal procurement portal in January 2024, Cooperation Minister Amit Shah had said that the country should become self-reliant in pulses by December 2027. “We will not import even one kilo of pulses from January 2028,” he had said then.

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