Hyderabad: The Rs 500 bonus offered by the Congress govt on every quintal of fine variety paddy helped the Civil Supplies Corporation procure over 23 lakh metric tonnes of fine variety paddy from the Kharif crop, the highest since the formation of Telangana state.
In total, nearly 54 lakh metric tonnes of Kharif paddy, including 30 lakh metric tonnes of coarse variety paddy, were procured from 10.18 lakh farmers, even as the paddy procurement from the Kharif crop almost came to an end.
The rice millers have already delivered about two lakh metric tonnes of fine rice to the Civil Supplies Corporation, keeping in view the Congress govt’s announcement of distributing fine variety rice through ration shops after the Ugadi festival at the end of March. The government paid Rs 12,022 crore to the farmers for the paddy they sold at procurement centres.
Officials said it was crucial to get the Kharif fine variety paddy milled into rice at the earliest and delivered to the government. “The new rice does not cook well and needs to be stored for at least three months to cook well. Keeping this in view, the rice millers were given early arrival of paddy from October and November 2024 itself. Now, the govt has in place 2 lakh metric tonnes of fine rice, which will be at least three months old by the time it is distributed to the ration card holders,” an official in the Civil Supplies Corporation said.
The state government requires over 24 lakh metric tonnes of fine variety rice per annum (36 lakh metric tonnes in the case of fine variety paddy) to supply it to all the existing ration card holders. Though the government expected to procure over 30 lakh metric tonnes of fine rice, the demand for it picked up in the market with private traders offering a higher price and purchasing it from the farmers.
Civil Supplies Corporation Commissioner D S Chauhan told TOI that the private traders feared that all the fine rice would be given to the government by farmers as they would get a Rs 500 bonus, in addition to the MSP. As a result, they offered a higher price and purchased fine variety paddy from the farmers. “We are happy for the farmers. The government’s ultimate objective was to ensure that farmers benefitted and it happened. It was a win-win situation for farmers as they got a Rs 500 bonus if they sold it to the government, if not an even better price from the market,” he said.
Officials said the state government may not need to purchase fine rice from the market as by the time they exhaust the fine rice of the Kharif crop, they would start getting a fine variety of paddy from the Rabi crop, the season of which has started.
In total, nearly 54 lakh metric tonnes of Kharif paddy, including 30 lakh metric tonnes of coarse variety paddy, were procured from 10.18 lakh farmers, even as the paddy procurement from the Kharif crop almost came to an end.
The rice millers have already delivered about two lakh metric tonnes of fine rice to the Civil Supplies Corporation, keeping in view the Congress govt’s announcement of distributing fine variety rice through ration shops after the Ugadi festival at the end of March. The government paid Rs 12,022 crore to the farmers for the paddy they sold at procurement centres.
Officials said it was crucial to get the Kharif fine variety paddy milled into rice at the earliest and delivered to the government. “The new rice does not cook well and needs to be stored for at least three months to cook well. Keeping this in view, the rice millers were given early arrival of paddy from October and November 2024 itself. Now, the govt has in place 2 lakh metric tonnes of fine rice, which will be at least three months old by the time it is distributed to the ration card holders,” an official in the Civil Supplies Corporation said.
The state government requires over 24 lakh metric tonnes of fine variety rice per annum (36 lakh metric tonnes in the case of fine variety paddy) to supply it to all the existing ration card holders. Though the government expected to procure over 30 lakh metric tonnes of fine rice, the demand for it picked up in the market with private traders offering a higher price and purchasing it from the farmers.
Civil Supplies Corporation Commissioner D S Chauhan told TOI that the private traders feared that all the fine rice would be given to the government by farmers as they would get a Rs 500 bonus, in addition to the MSP. As a result, they offered a higher price and purchased fine variety paddy from the farmers. “We are happy for the farmers. The government’s ultimate objective was to ensure that farmers benefitted and it happened. It was a win-win situation for farmers as they got a Rs 500 bonus if they sold it to the government, if not an even better price from the market,” he said.
Officials said the state government may not need to purchase fine rice from the market as by the time they exhaust the fine rice of the Kharif crop, they would start getting a fine variety of paddy from the Rabi crop, the season of which has started.
