Hyderabad: Telangana minister of finance Harish Rao along with minister for civil supplies Gangula Kamalakar held a meeting on Friday with chief secretary Somesh Kumar and other officials of the civil supplies department at BRKR Bhavan.
The ministers reviewed the paddy procurement situation in the state. Officials were directed to prepare a comprehensive note on paddy procurement and be prepared with all the relevant information for the chief minister’s meeting which is likely to be convened shortly.
MLC and Telangana Rythu Bandhu chairman Palla Rajeswar Reddy, commissioner civil supplies Anil Kumar and other officials attended the meeting.
According to an official statement released last week, the state government procured 14.1 million tonnes from over 21 lakh farmers at an estimated cost of Rs 26,610 crores last year (2020-21). In the last seven years, the government has acquired more than 55 million tonnes of paddy for Rs 98,000 crore from farmers.
During the COVID-19 outbreak, the TRS government spent over Rs 720 crore to supply 10-12 kg rice per month to ration cardholders for free. Similarly, from June 2021 to April 2022, they were provided with an extra 10 kilograms every month at a cost of Rs 421.33 crore.