The government has set up 1,820 paddy procurement centres in the State to see that farmers do not face any hassles and the state has so far procured 44 lakh tonnes during the kharif marketing season, said Civil Supplies Department Commissioner Kona Sasidhar.
The farmers are receiving spot payment mostly and in some cases there was delay as there there was delay in the clearance of dues by the Central government. The matter was taken up by the State with the Union Civil Supplies Minister in New Delhi, he said.
The second and third quarter funds are due to the State government, the Commissioner said. That is the reason behind the delay in the clearance of payments over the past two weeks. Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has held a high-level review meeting in this regard and directed the department to take advances from banks and Nabard to clear the dues of the farmers.
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The farmers’ dues would be cleared by Wednesday, he said, it was not fair on the part of a section of the media to blow the issue out of proportion. He asked the farmers to call toll-free number 1902 in case of any problems arising in paddy procurement.
He said paddy procurement for the rabi season would begin on April 1, including in East and West Godavari districts.