Heading towards another bumper crop, agrarian states Punjab and Haryana have procured nearly 180 lakh tonne of paddy this season so far, Food and Supplies Department officials said here on Monday.
Punjab has procured over 123.5 lakh tonne of paddy while in Haryana, over 56.40 lakh tonne has been procured.
Punjab Food Secretary K.A.P. Sinha told media here on Monday that Punjab was heading towards an all-time record of procuring over 182 lakh tonne of paddy this season.
He said payment of over Rs 16,000 crore had already been made to nearly 7.75 lakh farmers for the paddy procured and the remaining amount will be disbursed in the coming days.
The state had procured over 168 lakh tonne of paddy in a bumper crop season last year.
Government agencies have procured 98 per cent of the paddy arriving in grain markets in Punjab. In Haryana, government agencies have procured nearly 95 per cent of the paddy arrivals. The rest of the paddy has been procured by rice millers and traders.
The procurement of paddy began in both states on October 1. The paddy arrival and procurement will continue till the end of November.
The Reserve Bank of India has sanctioned an amount of nearly Rs 28,263 crore to Punjab to make payments to farmers for the paddy procured.
The Punjab government, which had sought over Rs 33,800 crore for paddy procurement this Kharif season, has sought another Rs 5,537 crore.
Both states are expecting a bumper crop this year and officials said that this could be nearly 230 lakh tonnes this season.
--IANS
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