Hyderabad: Paddy procured ahead of Telangana Formation Day

Hyderabad : With just two days left for the launch of 21-day decennial Telangana Formation Day celebrations from June 2, the state government has accomplished the big task of procurement of paddy, including the damaged crop due to unseasonal rains.

A record of 50-lakh metric tonnes of paddy has been procured by the state Civil Supplies department this rabi season. Officials said that the procurement in the current season was 12-lakh metric tonnes more compared to the last season.

As promised by Chief Minister Chandrashekar Rao, even paddy that got damaged due to untimely rains were also procured and farmers were paid Rs 10,000 as compensation per acre. According to officials, Rs 10,200-crore worth of paddy was procured so far and money would be deposited soon into the bank accounts of the farmers. About 8 lakh farmers will benefit from the paddy procurement during the rabi season. The government has established 7,000 paddy purchase centres across the state to procure the grains.

State Civil Supplies authorities said that they had warned that strict action would be taken against the rice millers if they reject paddy for custom milling on the grounds of below normal paddy quality.

Officials said that the paddy procurement was completed on a fast track as the entire government machinery would be busy in the Decennial Formation Day celebrations. All the officials including Collectors and district authorities will be involved in organising and conducting the celebrations successfully.