Make timely payments to farmers and transport the procured paddy immediately : CM Dr. Yadav

Bhopal, Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav has said that arrangements should be made to ensure payment to the farmers as early as possible whose paddy has been procured. The procurement amount should be paid in three to four days by simplifying the process. He said that in view of the weather, transport the paddy lying in the open as soon as possible and protect it from rain. He said that even if the procured paddy is kept in the open in the godown premises, it should be kept inside as soon as possible. Chief Minister Dr. Yadav was reviewing paddy procurement at Samatva Bhavan (CM’s residence) on Friday. Cooperative Minister Shri Vishwas Kailash Sarang, Farmer Welfare and Agriculture Development Minister Shri Aidal Singh Kansana, Additional Chief Secretary Dr. Rajesh Rajoura, Additional Chief Secretary and Agriculture Production Commissioner Shri Mohammad Suleman, Additional Chief Secretary Cooperation Shri Ashok Barnwal, Principal Secretary Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Smt. Rashmi Arun Shami and other senior officers were present in the meeting.

Make immediate arrangements to protect paddy from rain

Chief Minister Dr. Yadav said that in the cooperative societies where paddy is kept under the open sky, in view of the possibility of bad weather, the societies should immediately cover the paddy lying in the open with tarpaulin etc. to protect the procured paddy from rain. He asked the departmental officers to request the farmers to wait for a few days or bring their paddy for procurement only when the weather is clear. If the weather remains bad for a long time, the government will also consider extending the fixed period of paddy procurement. CM Dr. Yadav asked the officers to direct the paddy millers to also get their paddy lifted as soon as possible. He asked the officers of the Civil Supplies Corporation to immediately transport the procured paddy and take it to a safe place and make arrangements as per the need.

Try to give the procured paddy to the millers

Chief Minister Dr. Yadav said that the procurement process should be simplified so that paddy of maximum farmers can be procured by the stipulated time limit. The paddy that is being procured from the farmers, try to give it to the millers in maximum quantity, this will save time, money and labour spent on the process of paddy milling.

For paddy transportation, maximum vehicles should be deployed through contracted transporters and if necessary, other transporters/vehicles should be acquired and paddy should be transported. The paddy stored in the open at the warehouse level procurement centre should be stacked in the warehouse through cooperative societies. Approval letter should be issued quickly for prompt payment to the farmers selling paddy at the support price. Paddy should be procured as per FAQ norms by the Government of India, for its monitoring staff of other departments should also be deployed.

Principal Secretary Food and Civil Supplies informed that this year 7.72 lakh farmers have registered for paddy procurement, which is more than last year 2023-24 (7.27 lakh). This year 1393 paddy procurement centres have been set up in the state, in which 22.86 lakh metric paddy has been procured so far. So far 3.48 lakh farmers have sold their paddy. Arrangements are being made to ensure that payments to the farmers from whom procurement has been done are made in the shortest possible time. Till 26 December, 45 lakh metric tonnes of paddy common (grade A category) has been procured. The farmers from whom paddy has been procured have been paid Rs 1,961 crore as procurement price. There is no shortage of gunny bags in the state. Transportation and storage of procured paddy is also being done properly. There are a total of 674 contracted millers in the state. So far, 3.36 lakh metric tonnes of procured paddy has been lifted by them.

Farmers are being informed through SMS that paddy procurement will be postponed on 30, 31 December and 1 January. The last date for paddy procurement has been extended from 20 January to 23 January. The farmers whose slots were booked for paddy sale, their validity has been extended by 5 days. They do not need to book the slot again.