Rs 12,000 crore paid to farmers for paddy, millet procurement

A total 50,69,092 MT of paddy has arrived in grain markets across the state, of which 49,72,833 MT has been procured.

In a bid to benefit farmers, the state government is directly transferring payments for crop purchases to their bank accounts. Over Rs 12,000 crore has already been paid to paddy and millet farmers, including Rs 10,961.15 crore to paddy farmers and Rs 1,039.89 crore to millet farmers, said a spokesperson of the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department.

He said procurement was running smoothly and the department had introduced an online gate pass system to make it easier for farmers to sell their produce.

The government was offering MSP of Rs 2,300 per quintal for normal paddy and Rs 2,320 per quintal for grade-A paddy. Senior officers were closely monitoring the procurement process, he said.

The highest arrival of paddy was recorded in Kurukshetra, with 9,93,546.66 MT arriving at mandis. Other major arrivals were 8,27,679.03 MT (Karnal), 8,10,610.69 MT (Kaithal), 6,48,773.76 MT (Fatehabad), 5,79,630.16 MT (Ambala) and 5,66,561.24 MT (Yamunanagar).