Paddy procurement to be completed soon in Telangana

Of the 32 districts, 100 per cent procurement had been completed in 21 districts with paddy worth Rs 16,878 crore procured

Hyderabad: The paddy procurement exercise of last Yasangi crop season is expected to be completed in the next three or four days with a record 90 lakh metric tonnes of paddy worth about Rs 17,000 crore already purchased so far.

“The procurement is in the final stage and another 50,000 to one lakh metric tonne of paddy is expected to arrive at the centres in the coming few days. So far, 90 lakh metric tonnes have been procured through 6,967 procurement centres from 14.21 lakh farmers,” Telangana State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited Chairman M Srinivas Reddy told mediapersons here on Thursday.

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Of the 32 districts, 100 per cent procurement had been completed in 21 districts with paddy worth Rs 16,878 crore procured. Of these, Rs.13,753 crore has been already deposited into farmers’ accounts. On Thursday alone, Rs 2,000 crore was released, he said.

Initially, as per Agriculture department estimates, the procurement by the Corporation this season was supposed to be between 70,000 lakh metric tonne and 80,000 lakh metric tonnes. “But it has already crossed 90 lakh metric tonnes,” he said.

Compared to 2019 Yasangi season, paddy procurement increased by 63 per cent to 114 per cent in districts like Suryapet, Mahabubnagar, Sangareddy, Narayanpet, Vikarabad and Gadwal, this season, he informed.

Significantly, despite Covid-19 pandemic and other isses, in the 2020 season, three crore metric tonne of paddy was cultivated even in parched lands in the State, he said, pointing out that what could not be achieved in the last 70 years had been achieved in the last seven years.

In 2014-15, the extent of paddy cultivation in both Yasangi and Vanakalam season was about 35 lakh acres, while in 2020-21, it had shot up to 1.06 crore acres. Similarly, last year (2019-20) in both the seasons, the total procurement by the corporation was 1.11 crore metric tonnes and this record would be overtaken with 1.40 crore metric tonnes procured so far, Srinivas Reddy said.

When asked about the Food Corporation of India’s conditions on paddy quality, the CSC chairman said Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao had already spoken to FCI officials. They have agreed to procure 80 per cent boiled rice and 20 per cent raw rice, he said.

Regarding ration cards and setting up new fair price shops, Srinivas Reddy said the State government has already appointed a Cabinet sub committee to study different aspects and submit a detailed report. The Committee is expected to submit its report in a few days and based on its recommendations, the government will take a decision, he added.

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