Wheat procurement: Officials told to ensure payment within 48 hours of lifting

The Punjab food department has issued a strict directive to all purchase centres to submit daily report of the lifting and payment positions during the ongoing procurement operations in the state. According to a spokesperson of the food and civil supplies department, the decision to this effect was taken after receiving the reports of delayed lifting and payments from a few purchase centres.

The Punjab food department has issued a strict directive to all purchase centres to submit daily report of the lifting and payment positions during the ongoing procurement operations in the state.

According to a spokesperson of the food and civil supplies department, the decision to this effect was taken after receiving the reports of delayed lifting and payments from a few purchase centres.

The spokesperson said the report should reach daily to the especially set up control room by the department for the arrivals, lifting of wheat and payments made to the commission agents and farmers. The department machinery has got activated when the most of the procurement is over and large amount of payments is to be made to farmers.

The officers directly responsible for the procurement have also been asked to ensure payments to the commission agents and farmers within 48 hours of the lifting of the wheat.

The commission agents have been asked to submit the actual bill of the wheat lifted simultaneously to the food department so that the payments could be made within the fixed time.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson said 97.98 lakh tonne of wheat had been procured in the state till Sunday evening. The government agencies procured 93.15 lakh tonne for the central pool. While the private traders procured 1.46 lakh tonne.

Giving agency-wise procurement details, the spokesperson said Pungrain had procured 15.98 lakh tonne (16.3%), Markfed has procured maximum out of the government agencies 19.64 lakh tonne (20%), Punsup procured 19 lakh tonne (19.5%) and state warehousing corporation 11.74 lakh tonne (12%) and Punjab Agro Industries Corporation procured 9.48 lakh tonne. The central government agency -- Food Corporation of India -- has procured 17.18 lakh tonne (17.5%) of wheat for the central pool.