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Centre postpones paddy buying in Punjab, Haryana till Oct 11 due to rains
Paddy procurement for 2021-22 kharif marketing season in Punjab was to commence from October 1, while in Haryana it officially started from September 25
The Centre on Thursday postponed procurement of paddy in Punjab and Haryana till October 11 as the crop maturity is delayed owing to recent heavy rains.
Paddy procurement for 2021-22 kharif marketing season in Punjab was to commence from October 1, while in Haryana it officially started from September 25.
The procurement operation is undertaken by the central government’s nodal agency Food Corporation of India (FCI) along with state agencies.
“It has been reported that due to recent downpour in Punjab and Haryana, the maturity of paddy has been delayed,” Union food ministry said in a statement.
Keeping in view the interest of farmers and to avoid any inconvenience to them, the ministry has decided that the procurement of paddy under the minimum support price would commence from October 11 in these two states, it said. All the agencies have been directed to take necessary action to undertake procurement of paddy with the effect from October 11 in Punjab and Haryana, it added.
The Centre has fixed minimum support price (MSP) of ₹1,960 per quintal for grade ‘A’ paddy, while ₹1,940 per quintal for common grade paddy for 2021-22 kharif marketing season.
Punjab is a major contributor to the central pool as on an average over 100 lakh tonne of rice is procured from this state. From Haryana, less than 45 lakh tonne of rice is purchased during a kharif marketing season.
Channi seeks PM’s intervention
Taking prompt cognisance of the letter of the Union ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution regarding postponement of paddy procurement, chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Thursday sought the personal intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to advise the ministry to withdraw its letter forthwith, allowing the state to start paddy procurement from October 1 instead of October 11.
The CM said the state is all set to start procurement of paddy from October 1 as scheduled earlier and now these instructions would unnecessarily create confusion and uncertainty in the minds of farmers, who will start bringing their crops in various mandis across the state from Friday.
He also informed the PM that Punjab’s food and civil supplies minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu had already reviewed the arrangements for the paddy procurement.
