Kharif paddy procurement process running smoothly in Punjab, will procure 185 lakh ton: Centre

The Centre on Monday said it will procure 185 lakh tonnes of paddy from Punjab in kharif marketing season of 2024-25 and has made adequate arrangements, including storage capacity, to meet the procurement target.

The Union Food Ministry said that the procurement started on October 1 and is running smoothly, even as the Punjab government raised concerns over the lack of storage capacity in the state and also problems faced by millers as well as commission agents.

On Monday, Union Food Minister Pralhad Joshi met with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to discuss issues related to the ongoing paddy procurement in KMS (kharif marketing season) 2024-25 in the state.

"Paddy procurement in Punjab has commenced from October 1, 2024, and is proceeding smoothly," an official statement said. Adequate storage arrangements have been made to avoid any difficulty in the smooth operation of paddy procurement.

Procurement of 124.14 lakh tonnes of rice was estimated from Punjab last year, in KMS 2023-24, which was 100 per cent achieved.

"This year for KMS 2024-25, Government of India has already approved an estimated procurement of 124 lakh tonnes of rice from Punjab which is equivalent to 185 lakh tonnes of paddy and Government of India is procuring the same from the State without any restrictions," the statement said.

More than 2,200 mandis are functional currently in Punjab for paddy procurement this year and as of October 13, out of total arrival of around 7 lakh tonnes of paddy, about 6 lakh tonnes have already been procured for the central pool.

Paddy procurement will continue as usual till November 30, 2024.

According to the Punjab government statement, Mann during the meeting raised concerns of the rice millers and commission agents in the state.

Mann told Joshi that procurement of paddy is like a festival in the state whose economy depends on this season.

The chief minister said due to persistent shortage of storage space during the previous season and availability of only about seven lakh tonnes storage space as on date, there is resentment amongst the rice millers of the state for carrying out milling.

To accommodate the inflow of CMR (Custom Milled Rice), the Union Food Ministry said a detailed plan has already been prepared to provide about 40 lakh tonnes of storage space by liquidating previous stocks of wheat as well as that of rice from the covered godowns available in Punjab by December 2024.

To ensure that farmers do not face any difficulty, the Centre said that adequate arrangements including online registration of farmers, integration of land records, digital procurement operations and online transfer of MSP payments, have been made.

The Centre said that arrangements have been made to ensure full payment of MSP (minimum support price) to farmers directly into their bank accounts, usually within 48 hours.

Several other issues which inter alia included review of the rates of commission on procurement of paddy, updation of WINGS portal and Out Turn Ratio (OTR) of paddy to rice were discussed.

The issue regarding additional transportation charges being incurred by the millers was also discussed. It was assured that the same will be examined favourably and resolved.

"Revision of the rates of commission charges is under active consideration of the Government and a decision in the matter will be taken shortly. A study on OTR and driage of paddy is ongoing at IIT Kharagpur," the statement said.

Updation of data/ fields on WINGS (Warehouse Inventory Network & Governing System) portal has been done and its visibility to all stakeholders is now available.