He writes a letter to Union Rural Development Minister Tomar seeking permission to do so

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, in a letter to Union Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, has asked the Centre to allow payment of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) wages in the form of food grains.
Mr. Baghel said that the State was employing five lakh workers every day under the scheme. He added that the livelihood of over 62.5 lakh persons in the State was dependent on MGNREGA and it was essential that the work continued in this hour of crisis.
The Chief Minister argued that with the lockdown and the continuing scare of COVID-19, handing the workers food grains directly was better. Once we credit the MGNREGA wages, the worker will have to go to the banks to withdraw the money. This would not only be a bother but also could jeopardize social distancing norms, he said.
Mr. Baghel further said that there was a shortage of bank branches in Chhattisgarh as well as the problem of Internet connectivity in Naxal-affected and other aspirational districts. Due to this, there are often problems like link failure and workers have to contact the branch many times to withdraw the amount, he wrote in his letter.
The Chief Minister also wrote that adequate food grains were available with the State government and an effective system of distribution was in force. He requested the Union Minister to provide permission to the State government to distribute food grains against wages of labourers working under the scheme, so that food security would be ensured for villagers even in the present adverse circumstances.