A bumper paddy harvest has pushed Punjab close to its procurement target of 180 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) even before the harvesting season is over. With paddy from most parts of the politically sensitive Malwa region still arriving in mandis, the state government is seeking an upward revision of the procurement target from 180 LMT to 200 LMT for the ongoing kharif marketing season.The issue was discussed at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Wednesday, where senior officials expressed concern over arrivals exceeding procurement targets in several districts. The state has already recorded paddy arrivals equivalent to 95-104 per cent of the target in 20 of its 23 districts.Officials reportedly apprehend that the Centre may raise questions if procurement exceeds the approved target, particularly in the backdrop of last year’s experience when Punjab procured more paddy than the revised target despite flood-related damage and lower crop yields. The development had then sparked concerns that paddy from neighbouring states had been camouflaged as local produce and sold at the higher minimum support price (MSP) available in Punjab mandis.In seven districts, namely Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Mohali and Patiala, procurement has already exceeded the respective targets by a few lakh tonnes. However, arrivals have now slowed in some of these districts. No paddy arrivals were recorded in the mandis of Tarn Taran, Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala on Wednesday, while Amritsar reported a negligible arrival of just 15 metric tonnes.Till date, 175.9 LMT of paddy has arrived in Punjab mandis, of which 170.14 LMT has been procured. Against the cash credit limit (CCL) of Rs 48,000 crore secured for purchasing 180 LMT, about Rs 37,000 crore has already been disbursed to farmers.Senior government officials told The Tribune that nearly 25 per cent of the paddy crop was yet to be harvested in Barnala, Bathinda and Mansa districts. These districts continued to witness substantial arrivals on Wednesday, with Bathinda reporting 60,799 MT, Barnala 35,732 MT and Mansa 52,456 MT.Moga recorded the highest arrivals at 65,386 MT, followed by Ludhiana with 62,955 MT.“We are fast approaching our target of procuring 180 LMT of paddy for the Centre. With more arrivals expected, we are seeking permission to procure another 20 LMT over and above the existing target,” a senior official said.Officials informed the Chief Minister that the Centre could seek an explanation if procurement continues to exceed the approved target.They attributed the higher arrivals to a 7-8 per cent increase in yields across several districts and the shift of acreage from cotton and basmati to non-basmati paddy, which has added to the procurement burden.