Paddy procurement to start from today

Bathinda: Though paddy harvesting has been delayed by a few days due to the rains that lashed the state earlier this week, the state government claims to have made arrangements for procurement of kharif crop from Monday when officially the season starts. The state expects to procure 180 lakh metric tonne of paddy.

The harvesting is expected to start in the coming three-four days as crops on nearly 65,000 acres have been damaged due to the rains. Despite this, a good crop is expected. Paddy has been grown on 26 lakh hectares (65 lakh acres) whereas basmati has been sown on nearly 5 lakh hectares.

Farmer Khushpal Singh of Bathinda said that even though untimely rains lashed the region but we expect a good crop if weather remains clear in the coming days. As per Punjab food and civil supplies minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, directions have been given to the state procurement agencies and the FCI to expeditiously procure grains as per specifications and to ensure prompt lifting of paddy as per their allotted share of procurement.

Punjabis are expecting

paddy procurement

to the tune of 200 lakh metric tonnes this year. Of this, Pungrain will procure 30%, Punsup 22%, Markfed 23%, Punjab Agro 10%, Punjab State Warehousing Corporation 10% and FCI 5% from 1,834 purchase centres set up across the state, as per a statement released by Ashu. He said that the authorities had been directed that all-out efforts should be made to ensure smooth, hassle free and quick procurement of paddy and facilitate the farmers in getting timely payment for their produce. He categorically said that farmers of the state should not be put to any inconvenience for the sale of their produce in the mandis.

He directed that good quality gunny bales be made available while packing the produce and also that there should be no shortage of bales for storage of grains. The MSP for paddy has been fixed at Rs 1,770 per quintal for grade A and Rs 1,750 per quintal for common variety of paddy.

A proposal regarding cash credit limit has been sent by the finance department to the RBI for availing CCL limit of Rs 40,300 crore for the purchase of paddy by the state agencies.


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