Chandigarh: Inching closer to the 15 million tonne-mark, foodgrain producing states Punjab and Haryana have together procured nearly 14.7 million tonnes of paddy this season, officials said here yesterday.
While Punjab has procured nearly 10.9 million tonnes paddy, Haryana has procured nearly 3.8 million tonnes.
Bulk of the paddy (nearly 99 percent) has been procured by government agencies while the rest has been procured by private millers in both the states.
In Punjab, Ludhiana, Sangrur and Patiala were leading in procurement. Over Rs3,352 crore has been distributed as payment to farmers in these three districts alone, a food and supplies official said here.
Punjab officials said farmers in the state have received a total payment of nearly Rs10,460 crore this season (starting October 1).
Procurement of paddy in both states started October 1 but the bulk of the stocks started arriving only after October 10.
In Punjab, the state government has set up 1,770 procurement centres. In Haryana, the procurement of nearly 3.8 million tonnes so far is higher than the 3.135 million tonnes procured in the same period last year, an official of Haryana food and supplies department said.
Kurukshetra, Karnal and Kaithal were leading in paddy procurement in Haryana. The minimum support price (MSP) fixed by the government this time is Rs1,250 and Rs1,280 per quintal for common and grade-A varieties of paddy. IANS
