Punjab expected to procure 132 lakh metric tons wheat: Chief Secretary
Punjab is expected to procure 132 lakh metric tons wheat, out of which 17.14 lakh metric tons have already been acquired, Chief Secretary Anurag Verma said on Sunday.
Nearly 2.75 lakh farmers in Punjab have received a payment of over Rs 10 thousand crore minimum support price (MSP) in their bank accounts for paddy.
Punjab Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak said on Wednesday that paddy arrivals in the mandis (grain markets) of the state yet to reach their peak but a payment of Rs 10,182.23 crore MSP has already been transferred directly into the accounts of nearly 2.75 lakh farmers.
The minister said 17 districts of the state have transferred more than 100 per cent payment of the due MSP, which is to be paid in 48 hours of purchase as per norms, three districts have disbursed more than 95 per cent of due payment and remaining three districts have also made more than 85 per cent of due payment.
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He said the Mansa district, having transferred 125 per cent of due payments as per 48 hours norms, is at the top for MSP payments. He said though it was Dussehra on 24 October, one crore 20 lakh bags of procured paddy were lifted from the mandis across the state in a single day.
The minister said the state mandis are witnessing arrivals of nearly 5.3 Lakh metric tonne (MT) of paddy in a day as of now, and almost all paddy arriving in a day gets purchased by the end of that day itself. As on 24 October, less than two lakh MT has remained unpurchased across the state, which he said, clearly shows that in many mandis paddy is being cleaned and purchased on the date of arrival itself. The minister said more than 55.88 LMT paddy has arrived in the mandies till 24 October, out of which nearly 53.95 LMT paddy has already been procured.
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