Hyderabad: Telangana Civil Supplies Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy on Friday, April 24, directed officials to speed up paddy procurement operations across the state for the Rabi season, saying the government is prepared to purchase an unprecedented 90 lakh metric tonne of grain this year.
Chairing a high-level review meeting at the Dr BR Ambedkar Secretariat in Hyderabad, Reddy said paddy procurement has already commenced in 20 districts as grain has begun arriving at centres, while the process is yet to begin in the remaining 13 districts owing to delayed sowing.
“Since paddy production has risen to record levels after the Congress government came to power, we are ready to procure at a scale never seen before,” he told officials.
The minister said the government has decided to set up 8,500 procurement centres across the state, of which 5,000 are already operational. So far, 4.89 lakh metric tonne of paddy have been procured, he added.
Reddy said warehouses with a storage capacity of 12 lakh metric tonne have been identified, and district-wise allocations have been made to store an additional 20 lakh metric tonnes of boiled rice. He added that 16 crore gunny bags have been made available at procurement centres statewide.
The minister directed officials to install paddy cleaners and dryers at centres for quick moisture testing, deploy sufficient labourers to avoid delays and ensure error-free weighing. He also called for strengthening transportation arrangements to move procured paddy to mills without delay.
Reddy further said surveillance is being stepped up at inter-state checkposts to prevent illegal transportation of paddy from neighbouring states. He directed officials to coordinate with the Civil Supplies, Marketing departments and district administration to ensure farmers receive prompt payment for their produce.
