Supplies department to buy 34 lakh metric tonnes of paddy

He said 5.74 lakh metric tonnes of the foodgrain have so far been bought at a minimum support price of Rs 465.55 crore from 84,624 farmers through 1,491 procurement centres.

Civil Supplies Department plans to buy 34 lakh metric tonnes of paddy this kharif season and is making arrangements to set up 3,233 paddy procurement centres, Commissioner for Civil SuppliesAkunSabharwal said here Monday.

The Commissioner announced this after a meeting on the procurement of the paddy with officials of civil supplies. He said 5.74 lakh metric tonnes of the foodgrain have so far been bought at a minimum support price of Rs 465.55 crore from 84,624 farmers through 1,491 procurement centres.

The amount has been deposited in the farmers' account, an official press release said. The officials have been instructed to take measures to ensure farmers sell their paddy at the minimum support price without any difficulty, the release said.

The procurement centres would have equipment like moisture meters, paddy cleaners, winnowing machines, electronic weighing machines and other facilities such as drinking water and wash-rooms, the release said.