Balance Rs. 10,604.60 to be released next month, CM directs timely procurement & payment...

Chandigarh (Spokesman News Service), 9th Oct'18: Following Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s personal intervention, the Centre on Tuesday sanctioned Cash Credit Limit (CCL) amount of Rs. 29,695.40 crore, of the total Rs 40,300 crore required by the state for procurement of paddy in the Kharif marketing season 2018-19.

Disclosing this here, an official spokesperson said the amount has been released by the RBI for procurement of paddy till October. The balance instalment of Rs. 10,604.60 would be released subsequently. The Chief Minister, it may be noted, had been persistently pursuing the issue of early release of CCL to ensure timely payment to farmers against their crop.

Captain Amarinder has, meanwhile, directed all the state procurement agencies to take immediate steps to ensure prompt lifting of the produce, followed by timely release of payments to farmers. He has reiterated his government’s commitment to facilitating smooth and hassle-free procurement in the Mandis across the state.

The State Government has already made elaborate arrangements for procurement of the estimated 200 lakh LMT paddy expected to come to the Mandis this season. The Chief Minister has issued strict instructions to lift every single grain of the farmers’ produce from the market and adhere to the prescribed norms of timely payment.

During the previous KMS 2017-18, a total of 179.34 LMT paddy was procured, of which 176.61 LMT paddy was procured by Government agencies, while traders/millers procured only 2.73 LMT. During KMS 2018-19, State Agencies will procure 190.00 LMT paddy and FCI will procure 10 LMT paddy.