NEW DELHI, Oct 22 — The Centre has relaxed certain paddy procurement norms in Haryana to mop up more paddy from the market at the minimum support price (MSP) fixed for the Kharif marketing season.

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) and other government agencies will procure with immediate effect damaged, discoloured, sprouted and weeviled grains upto a maximum limit of 8 per cent instead of the earlier uniform specification of three per cent, an official release said here today.

The procurement of paddy will be made on the MSP fixed for the Kharif Marketing Season 2000-2001, Rs 540 per quintal for Grade A and Rs 510 per quintal for common variety.

The out turn ratio for custom milling of such relaxed standard paddy will be 64 per cent for raw rice and 65 per cent for par boiled rice.

No relaxation in specification has been made in the case of procurement of rice, the release added.

CHANDIGARH (UNI): Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala has expressed gratitude to the Central Government for the package.

He has assured the farmers that although the government agencies had procured 58 per cent of the total arrival of paddy in the mandis, which is an all-time record, every grain of paddy would be purchased to safeguard their interests.

Earlier, speaking at Fatehabad, the Chief Minister said the relief would be given to farmers on the pattern of Punjab. Those Haryana farmers who had resorted to distress sale would be suitably compensated.

The compensation money would be shared equally by the Centre and the state government, he added.

He claimed that during the Congress regime, only 2.5 per cent paddy was procured while the present government had procured over 58 per cent of the crop. “Our procurement management system is so efficient that the farmers of Rajasthan, UP and Punjab also prefer to sell their produce in Haryana’’, Mr Chautala said.

The Secretary-General of the Indian National Lok Dal, Mr M.C. Gambhir, has expressed gratitude to the Union Government for announcing the concessions for the farmers of Haryana.

In a statement here, Mr Gambhir thanked the Chief Minister for pursuing the case of farmers to safeguard their interests. He said the state government formed by the INLD had given a number of concessions to the farmers from time to time.