Haryana govt ready for paddy, bajra procurement

Chandigarh, Sep 12 (UNI) The Haryana government has made all arrangements for the smooth procurement of paddy and bajra during the current kharif season.

The procurement season of these crops will start from October.

Reviewing the procurement arrangements here today, Deputy Chief Minister Chander Mohan said the government had arranged a sum of Rs 1000 crore from the Reserve Bank of India to make payment to the farmers for the purchase of their produce. He said that the production of paddy was expected at 45.37 tonnes during the current season.

He revealed that the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy for this season had been fixed at Rs 580 per quintal, while for Grade 'A' it was Rs 610 per quintal plus a bonus of Rs 40 on it.

Mr Chander Mohan, who also holds the Food and Supplies portfolio, said that bajra would be purchased at an MSP of Rs 540 per quintal.

Arrangements had been made for the procurement of 1.50 lakh metric tonnes of bajra and it was expected that its production would be 9.75 lakh tonnes.

He directed the officers of the Food and Supplies Department to ensure that farmers did not face any difficulties in selling their produce and that the payment of their produce was made to them within 48 to 72 hours. He said that about 41 lakh metric tonnes of paddy was expected to arrive in the mandis during the current season and out of this, about 10 lakh metric tonnes would be of basmati and other superior varieties, while the remaining 31 lakh tonnes would be leviable.

He said that 172 mandis had been set up in the state for the procurement of paddy while 41 mandis had been set up for the purchase of bajra. He said six procurement agencies would procure the paddy during the kharif season including Food and Supplies, Hafed, FCI, Haryana Warehousing Corporation, Haryana Agro Industries Corporation and Confed.

It was also decided in the meeting that two representatives of the Rice Millers Association would be included in the district level Paddy Milling Committees. Earlier, only one representative was a member of this Committee.

The Food and Supplies Director S K Monga said all arrangements for storing of over 41 lakh tonnes of levy paddy had also been made.

He said that the control rooms, to give information about the purchase, would be functional in all districts with effect from October.

UNI HS PB DB1846