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Punjab government to transfer over ₹2,000 crores to farmers
A spokesperson of Punjab government disclosed that Rs. 828 crores had already been transferred to the farmers so far and more than ₹2,000 crores will be credited on Saturday
: The Punjab government will transfer more than Rs. 2,000 crores into farmers’ bank accounts in lieu of MSP payments, an official said on Friday.
A spokesperson of the state government disclosed that Rs. 828 crores had already been transferred to the farmers so far. Now, the department has processed and approved payments worth Rs. 2,137 crore which will be credited by the banks directly into the accounts of the farmers on Saturday.
The official reaffirmed commitment of the state government to ensure that the farmers’ produce is purchased on priority and due payments are credited into their bank accounts within 48 hours of purchase.
Responding to a query about the ongoing visits of the central teams to assess the extent of shrivelled grains arriving in the mandis, he said that the teams had already surveyed 17 districts and it was expected that the remaining six districts would be covered on Saturday.
On the expected disruption in procurement due to overnight rain and consequent stagnation of water in the mandis, he said that the mandi board officials had worked overnight to ensure that water was cleared and there was no disruption in procurement operations on Friday.
The spokesperson said wheat arrivals had peaked in the state with more than 8.2 lakh tonnes of wheat arriving in a single day today. So far, 36 lakh tonnes of wheat have arrived in the mandis and the state procurement agencies had already procured 33 lakh tonnes of wheat.
The total quantity of unsold wheat lying across the state is just 3 lakh tons, which is 40% of a single day’s arrival, indicating smooth operations of mandis and that more than 60% of the day’s arrival is being purchased on the same day itself, he added.
