Civil Supplies Commissioner Akun Sabharwal on Thursday said 35.26 lakh tonnes of paddy was procured from farmers in the recent rabi and the entire amount of ₹ 5490.10 crore was paid to them.
Dr. Sabharwal told the media that the payment was made to over 6.11 lakh farmers through over 3,300 paddy purchase centres. Reacting on the indefinite strike call given by the Telangana State Ration Dealers Welfare Association, he counselled the association to observe restraint as the ration mostly went to families which lived below the poverty line. “I have spoken to them and told them that this will cause hardship to BPL families,” he said.
Earlier, he launched the Facebook page and Twitter handle of the Telangana Consumer Information and Redressal Centre which began an Alternate Consumer Disputes Redressal System. The rationale behind this is to settle disputes by means of dialogue.
He said that the system is headed by a deputy tahsildar and six supporting staff. So far over 540 cases have been dealt with.
Explaining a success story, he said that the parents of a baby who was born with a spinal problem were paid ₹ 2 lakh following the intervention of the system. Earlier, a private diagnostic centre failed to identify the ailment.