Food and Civil Supplies Minister G.R. Anil has said the paddy procurement process this season is on track, with 17,680.81 tonnes of paddy procured within a little over a month. The government will commence disbursal of procurement price by November 13.
Paddy harvesting commenced in Kuttanad on September 26 and in Palakkad on October 5. While 8,808.735 tonnes of paddy has been procured in Alappuzha, 6,539.4 tonnes have been harvested in Palakkad. Around 1,466.5 tonnes have also been procured from Kottayam.
Bank loans
In a statement, Mr. Anil expressed optimism that the paddy procurement price can be paid without delay during the ongoing season. The payment will be made through Paddy Receipt Sheet (PRS) loans availed from State Bank of India, Canara Bank, and Federal Bank as was done during the previous season in view of the financial constraints faced by Supplyco. Nevertheless, Supplyco will shoulder the responsibility of repaying the loans, interests, and penalty interests, while the farmers will have no liability in this regard.
While eleven private rice mill owners have entered into agreements with the government, the Minister appealed to the others to follow suit to expedite the paddy procurement process.
Dues to farmers
The government still owed nearly 5,000 paddy farmers dues amounting to approximately ₹30 crore for paddy procured during the last season. A total quantity of 7.31 lakh tonnes of paddy had been procured from 2,50,373 farmers. Out of the total dues amounting to ₹2,061.94 crore, an amount of ₹2,031.41 crore has been disbursed.
