Haryana pays ₹9,880 crore to 2.88 lakh paddy farmers, brings beekeepers under crop insurance

Haryana has paid ₹9,880 crore to 2,88,102 farmers for the paddy it has bought this kharif season, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said in Chandigarh on Friday. At the same briefing he said beekeepers would now be covered by the state’s horticulture insurance scheme.

Saini said 48 lakh metric tonnes of paddy had reached the state’s grain markets up to November 5, and government agencies had procured 43 lakh tonnes of it. Buying began on September 29 at 278 mandis and is due to run until November 15, which leaves nine more days for farmers still bringing in their crop.

Common paddy is being bought at ₹2,441 a quintal and Grade-A paddy at ₹2,461 a quintal, he said.

Cover for bee colonies

The bigger change was for beekeepers. Beekeeping is being brought under the Mukhyamantri Bagwani Bima Yojana, the state’s insurance scheme for horticulture growers, so that losses from natural disasters can be claimed.

A beekeeper will pay a premium of ₹50 per colony per box, and claims can go up to ₹6.25 lakh, Saini said. When the Horticulture Department first announced the extension on October 24, a spokesperson said the cover would protect against floods, fire and other natural calamities, and against road accidents while colonies are being moved from one area to another.

What beekeepers get

• ₹50 premiumPaid per bee colony per box.
• ₹6.25 lakh highest claimThe most a single beekeeper can be paid.
• 250 colonies at mostUp to 250 colonies and 250 boxes per beekeeper can be insured.

Saini recalled that on August 16, 2025, at Kurukshetra, the government had announced that honey would be added to the Bhavantar Bharpai Yojana with a protected price of ₹120 a kilo.

Money for other schemes

The paddy figures came as the Chief Minister released a wider round of payments. He said ₹4,470.77 crore was being sent to 52,21,083 beneficiaries of state schemes, including the 13th instalment of the Deendayal Lado Lakshmi Yojana for women, and announced a 3 percentage point rise in dearness allowance for government employees and pensioners.

The allowance goes up from 60% to 63% from July 1, 2026, for about 2.78 lakh employees and 2.60 lakh pensioners. Social security pensions under 15 state schemes accounted for ₹1,135.21 crore of the money released on Friday, reaching 35,26,358 people.

He also wished people in the state a happy Dhanteras and Deepawali.

What comes next

Procurement in Haryana is due to close on November 15. On the November 5 figures, about 5 lakh tonnes of paddy that had reached the mandis was still waiting to be bought, and whatever of it the agencies buy will add to the payments.