HYDERABAD
The Telangana government has procured the highest-ever paddy of 47.01 lakh metric tonnes so far, which is 6 lakh tonnes more compared to 2023 Kharif season.
Sources in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) rejected the claims of the Opposition parties that procurement and payment were not to the expected level. The ₹500 bonus per quintal ensured that farmers received the best price for paddy in the country, it said.
The figures reveal that the government purchased 47.01 lakh metric tonnes of paddy so far. Of this, 28.23 lakh metric tonnes were the regular variety of rice while 18.78 lakh metric tonnes were of fine rice variety.
In the 2023 Kharif season, 41.20 lakh metric tonnes of grain were purchased. This year, government purchased an additional 6 lakh metric tonnes indicating its commitment towards the farm sector.
The total worth of the paddy purchased so far is ₹10,903 crore and out of this, ₹10,149 crore has already been paid to farmers. The total number of farmers who benefitted with the timely disbursement is 8.84 lakh.
₹939 crore bonus for fine variety
Officials revealed that 3.36 lakh farmers have received bonus for fine variety rice. So far, 18.78 lakh metric tonnes of fine variety have been procured from purchasing centres. The government will spend ₹939 crore for the additional bonus of ₹500 per quintal. Out of this amount, ₹591 crore have been paid to farmers already.
The government established 8,318 purchasing centres across the State this year and adequate precautions were taken to ensure farmers did not suffer losses due to unseasonal rains.
Kamareddy, Nizamabad, Medak, Jagtial, Peddapalli and Siddipet were among the top in procurement of grain.
Published – December 24, 2024 08:03 pm IST