Punjab paid over Rs 18k crore till Nov 8 to procure paddy from farmers

Punjab has procured over 130 lakh tonne of paddy this kharif season, food and supplies officials said on Friday.

"Government agencies and private millers have procured 130.34 lakh tonne of paddy in Punjab till November 8 while payment worth Rs. 18,515.46 crore has been transferred to the accounts of arthiya and farmers by the government," a Punjab government spokesman said.

While government agencies procured approximately 129.50 lakh tonne of paddy, 84,405 tonnes have been procured by millers.

The Punjab government has made arrangements for a bumper procurement of 200 lakh tonne of paddy this season. In 2017-18, a total of 179.34 lakh tonne of paddy was procured.

Paddy procurement started in the agrarian state on October 1, but the bulk of the stocks started coming after October 10.

The Centre sanctioned a Cash Credit Limit (CCL) amount of Rs 29,695.40 crores for the procurement of paddy in the kharif marketing season 2018-19. The Punjab government had demanded Rs 40,300 crore.

(With inputs from agencies.)