Haryana Pays Over Rs 12,000 Crore for Paddy, Millet Procurement

Chandigarh, Nov 7 (PTI) The procurement process of paddy and millet crops is going on smoothly in Haryana, and timely payment is being ensured to farmers, an official statement said here on Thursday.

Of the total arrivals of 5,069,092 metric tonnes of paddy in the mandis till Wednesday, 4,972,833 metric tonnes have been procured.

The state government is directly transferring payments for crop purchases to the bank accounts of the farmers.

"An amount of Rs 12,001.04 crore has already been disbursed to paddy and millet farmers, including Rs 10,961.15 crore to paddy farmers and Rs 1,039.89 crore to millet farmers. Farmers have expressed satisfaction with the arrangements made by the government," the statement said.

Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department, Haryana, has introduced an online gate pass system to make it easier for farmers to sell their crops and avoid unnecessary waiting to enter the mandis.

"The government is offering a minimum support price of Rs 2,300 per quintal for normal paddy and Rs 2,320 per quintal for grade-A paddy. Senior officers are closely monitoring the procurement process to ensure its smooth operation," the statement quoted an official spokesperson as saying.

The spokesperson further said the highest arrival of paddy in the state was recorded in Kurukshetra, with 9,93,546.66 metric tonnes arriving in the mandis till Wednesday.

Other major arrivals include 8,27,679.03 metric tonnes in Karnal and 8,10,610.69 metric tonnes in Kaithal.