Team News Riveting
Raipur, November 24
Hinting at a stringent action against those creating confusion over paddy procurement, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said the state government was committed to purchase 21 quintal of paddy behind every cent from the farmers as part of Modi ki Guarantee.
Farmers should not have any kind of confusion regarding this matter, Sai said. He said that strict action would be taken against those who spread confusion in this regard.
The paddy procurement process started in Chhattisgarh on November 14 and would continue till January 31, 2025. As promised in Modi Ki Guarantee, the state government will be paying Rs 3100 for a quintal of paddy purchased from farmers. The amount includes minimum support price (MSP) fixed by the Centre and input subsidy provided by the Chhattisgarh government.
The state government had kept a cap and purchased 21 quintal paddy per acre from the farmers. A section tried to create confusion stating the cap had been reduced.
The Chief Minister said that paddy procurement was the top priority of the government. The state government is purchasing paddy from the registered farmers of the state at the support price with full commitment, he said, adding that keeping in mind the interest of the farmers, the facility of withdrawing an amount ranging from Rs 2000 to Rs 10 thousand from the micro ATMs of the procurement centers has also been given. This will facilitate the farmers in paying the fare and porter wages of tractors, matadors etc. hired for transporting paddy.
Over 27.68 lakh farmers have registered for the current Kharif Marketing season. It includes 1.45 lakh new farmers. The state government has set a target to purchase 16 million tonne (MT) paddy through 2739 procurement centers across the state
Special monitoring has been arranged in the border areas of the state and check posts have been established. At the state level, an investigation team of senior state level officers has been formed for different districts, which are continuously monitoring the purchase of paddy taking place in the districts.
