U.P. cabinet approves wheat procurement policy, higher MSP
Uttar Pradesh cabinet approves wheat procurement policy for 2025-26 at ₹2425/quintal, along with land for Agra Metro and medical college in Ballia.
The Uttar Pradesh cabinet on Monday approved the wheat procurement policy for 2025-26, deciding to procure wheat at the minimum support price (MSP) of ₹2425 per quintal at 6500 procurement centres across the state. The MSP for wheat adopted by the state cabinet is the same as announced by the Centre, an increase of ₹150 per quintal against ₹2275 in 2024-25.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath presided over the meeting of the state cabinet that also gave its nod to the proposals to give free of cost land of the horticulture and food processing departments and the home department for the first and second phases of the Agra Metro Rail project of the Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Limited.
Briefing media persons, minister for finance Suresh Khanna said the state cabinet has approved 19 proposals. He said the state cabinet gave its nod for transferring 8684.68 square metre land of the horticulture and food processing department on 90-year lease (renewal at every 30 years) at a token money of Re 1 for the Agra Metro rail project.
The state cabinet also approved a proposal to give 2.0753 hectare (20,753 square metre land) of the home department free of cost to the housing and urban development department at a token rent of Re 1 for the project.
The state cabinet also approved a proposal to transfer 14.05 acre land of the Ballia district jail to the medical education department for setting up a medical college in Ballia.
Khanna said out of this land, 12.39 acre will be used for setting up the medical college. He said on the remaining land, a memorial to Chittu Pandey would be developed.
He said a statue of Chittu Pandey would be installed there and the medical college would be named after the freedom fighter.
As for wheat procurement, it will be done from March 17 2025 to June 15.
Eight government agencies would set up 6500 wheat procurement centres, an official press release said. The procurement would be made through electronic point of purchase machines with biometric verification of farmers. The payment to the farmers would be done through PFMS portal within 48 hours of procurement.
Khanna said the state cabinet also gave its nod to transfer 4570 square metre land of the agriculture department registered in the name of the government agriculture school at Vallipura village of Bulandshahr for setting up a nursing college. This land is close to the premises of Bulandshahr medical college, and its transfer would lead to the setting up of the nursing college within the premises of the medical college.
Khanna said the state cabinet approved another proposal to allow implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations to seven employees of the Uttar Pradesh Science and Technology Council. He said the employees have been working with the council for 25 years under the assistance for S and T secretariat to CSTUP.
Paper stamps of ₹10K, ₹25K
to be invalid after March 31
The Uttar Pradesh cabinet on Monday approved a proposal to weed out paper stamps of denomination of ₹10,000 and ₹25,000 and their return or use will be valid only up to March 31, 2025.
Minister for finance Suresh Khanna said the use of only e-stamps would be valid in the state and the state’s treasuries have unused stamps of denomination of ₹10,000 and ₹25,000 worth ₹5630.87 crore.
Khanna said the paper stamps of ₹10,000 and ₹25,000 would be weeded out after March 31, 2025.
₹232.17 cr for new block
at Saifai medical univ
The state cabinet also approved a revised cost of ₹232.17 crore for setting up of a 300-bed obstetrics and gynecology block (including 100-bed peadiatric block) at Uttar Pradesh Medical Sciences University, Saifai, Etawah. The initial cost of the project was estimated to be ₹176.77 crore in 2016. The university proposed a revised cost of ₹240.28 crore for the project. The expenditure finance committee, however, approved a cost of ₹232.17 crore that the state cabinet approved on Monday.