Panjab-India Spar Over RDF Funds; FRI Flags Gaps in Agroforestry Push

August

2026

A war of words broke out between the Panjab and the union government on 14 Aug over the pending Rural Development Fund (RDF) amounting to USD 1.03B after Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that Panjab had always received the funds as per rules and faced ‘no discrimination’ in their release. Responding, Panjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema termed Chouhan’s statement as ‘highly irresponsible and misleading’ adding, ‘On 28 Nov 2024, I, along with minister Lal Chand Kataruchak, met Union Minister Prahlad Joshi and demanded the release of Panjab’s RDF money. On 17 Jul, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann met Joshi and reiterated the demand.’ Cheema further said that he met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 10 Jan following which CM Mann met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on 17 Jan requesting release of Panjab’s RDF. Cheema then sent an official letter to the union government on 14 Mar 2026, after which Joshi had assured them that he would hold a meeting with Shah and Sitharaman to discuss the matter. Cheema said, ‘Despite this, neither have the funds been released nor has any other positive step been taken’. He said the union government procures wheat and paddy at Minimum Support Price, for which 3% RDF is to be provided as per the rules. Additionally, the union government said it has allocated USD 139.3M for Panjab under the newly implemented Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission Gramin scheme for 1 Jul 2026–31 Mar 2027, with USD 4.6M released as the first installment. Panjab initially opposed the new law, but later took a U-turn and notified the scheme in July. Concurrently, a report by the Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun warns that Panjab’s ambitious plan to bring two lakh hectares of farmland under agroforestry over the next five years faces critical challenges—inadequate marketing infrastructure, fluctuating timber prices, and the continued dominance of middlemen impacting farmers’ returns. Panjab has been pushing agroforestry under its Green Punjab Mission, distributing improved eucalyptus and poplar planting material to farmers to encourage adoption. The report says that unlike conventional crops, farmers growing trees have limited marketing options, and often operate in a largely buyer-driven market. The absence of an adequate government marketing policy for tree-based produce remains a key concern (earlier coverage).