Govt. to procure paddy from ryots

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, DEC. 10. The State Government has decided to procure paddy from farmers at the minimum support price through the A.P. State Civil Supplies Corporation and the MARKFED.

The procurement operations would immediately start in the six Telangana districts of Medak, Nizamabad, Warangal, Karimnagar, Nalgonda and Khammam, according to the Chief Secretary, Mr. P.V. Rao.

At a video conference with Collectors of these districts on Saturday, the Chief Secretary said paddy should be procured as per specifications laid down by the Centre. The State Government and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) would procure 10 lakh tonnes of paddy directly from the farmers, he said.

Mr. Rao instructed the Collectors of the six districts to identify the godown space for preservation of paddy, earmark the areas for establishing procurement centres and depute agriculture officers to the Civil Supplies Corporation. They could pump rice to the public distribution system in order to vacate the godown space, he said.

The Chief Secretary also asked them to procure metres for testing the moisture level in the paddy, procure sufficient number of gunny bags for the purpose and finalise arrangements for transporting the paddy. The Reserve Bank of India would open a line of credit for these operations.

Mr. Rao made it clear to the Collectors that the procurement operations were purely a measure of market intervention by the Government in areas where farmers were receiving less than the minimum support price.

The Chief Secretary told the Collectors to pool necessary financial resources and authorised them to initially utilise the Collector's funds. He said six rakes of gunnies were available in West Godavari district which could be moved to various districts when required.

The Commissioner of Civil Supplies, Mr. H.S. Brahma, and other senior officials participated in the video conference.

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Section  : Southern States
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