Telangana procures 42.22 lakh tonnes of paddy

Hyderabad: Telangana has procured nearly 42.22 lakh tonnes of paddy worth Rs 8,268 crore from 4.5 lakh farmers as of December 12. This is about 30 per cent more than the paddy procured during the corresponding period last year. However, there is a severe shortage of godown space in the State with the Centre not […]

Hyderabad: Telangana has procured nearly 42.22 lakh tonnes of paddy worth Rs 8,268 crore from 4.5 lakh farmers as of December 12. This is about 30 per cent more than the paddy procured during the corresponding period last year. However, there is a severe shortage of godown space in the State with the Centre not lifting the pending stocks from the godowns belonging to the Food Corporation of India (FCI).

Reviewing the ongoing paddy procurement at his chambers on Monday, Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalakar said paddy purchases have been completed in 1,280 of the total 6,775 paddy procurement centres in the State. About Rs 5,447 crore have been deposited into the accounts of 3.75 lakh farmers through Online Procurement Management System (OPMS) till date. While there is no shortage of gunny bags and transportation, there is a severe shortage of storage space in godowns belonging to the Food Corporation of India (FCI).

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“We are facing a tough situation due to lack of storage space in FCI godowns especially in the districts of Suryapet, Siddipet, Sangareddy, Medak, Mahbubnagar and Nirmal where they are filled to their full capacity. Unless the FCI takes immediate measures to take more godowns or warehouses on lease, it would be difficult to store the procured paddy,” the Minister said.

Despite repeated requests from the State government, the FCI is not clearing its existing stocks citing lack of railway rakes for transportation. The Union government too is not responding to the requests from the State government in this regard. Under these circumstances, the Minister wanted the Civil Supplies officials to make alternate arrangements for storage of the paddy procured from farmers as well as continue to seek the FCI and also the Central government for providing more storage space.

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