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Cabinet minister Ashu kicks starts paddy procurement, says bogus billing won’t be tolerated
Cabinet minister Ashu said paddy had been cultivated on around 2.57 lakh hectares in Ludhiana and around 17.53 lakh MT of paddy was expected to arrive at the grain markets; says mechanisms had been put in place to ensure all grain was lifted within 48 hours
Punjab food, civil supplies and consumer affairs minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, who was at Asia’s largest grain market in Khanna to kick start paddy procurement on Sunday, said bogus billing will not be tolerated.
The minister, who is under fire from the Opposition over ₹20-crore wheat and paddy embezzlement in the state, said his department had already started a campaign against bogus billing and several teams had been formed to bring culprits to book.
Kicking off the procurement process, industry minister Gurkirat Singh Kotli and Ashu said directions had been issued to officials to ensure that all paddy was procured and paid for without undue delay.
The Cabinet ministers said paddy had been cultivated on around 2.57 lakh hectares in Ludhiana and around 17.53 lakh MT of paddy was expected to arrive at the grain markets. “Apart from the 108 regular grain markets in Ludhiana, 94 temporary yards and 203 mandi yards have also been identified to decongest the grain markets,” Ashu said, adding that a mechanism had been put in place to ensure all paddy was lifted from the grain market within 48 hours of procurement.
The ministers also met with arhtiyas at the office of the Khanna market committee. Among those present were zila parishad chairperson Yadwinder Singh Jandiali, Khanna Arhtiya Association president Harbans Singh Rosha, Khanna market committee chairman Gurdeep Singh Rasulra, SDM Manjeet Kaur, DFSC Harveen Kaur, and several others.
