Done: arun Hyderabad: In what is being billed as one of the largest grain procurement drives in the country, Telangana is gearing up to purchase 80 lakh metric tonnes of paddy this kharif season, valued at around ₹23,000 crore, civil supplies minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said on Wednesday. Chairing a video conference with district collectors and civil supplies officials to review procurement preparedness, Uttam said the state expects a record kharif harvest of 1.48 crore metric tonnes of paddy, cultivated across 66.8 lakh acres. The govt plans to procure 40 lakh MTs of fine (sanna) and 40 lakh MTs of coarse (doddu) varieties. “This remarkable achievement reflects the farmer-friendly policies of chief minister A Revanth Reddy and deputy chief minister Bhatti Vikramarka. Telangana today stands as a symbol of agricultural progress, and we will continue to strengthen this reputation,” Uttam said. He directed collectors to treat the procurement exercise as a mission-mode operation and ensure that no farmer faces delays or hardship at the procurement centres. “Collectors must personally supervise arrangements and make additional spending where necessary without delay. If there is an urgent requirement, go ahead — the govt will issue post-facto approvals,” he said. As of mid-Oct, 8,342 paddy procurement centres (PPCs) have been sanctioned across the state, with 1,205 already operational in key paddy-growing districts such as Kamareddy, Nizamabad, Medak, Siddipet, and Nalgonda. Each PPC will be equipped with calibrated weighing scales, moisture meters, paddy cleaners, dryers, tarpaulins, and digital calipers, and collectors were told to immediately address any shortfalls. Uttam also emphasised timely payments, directing officials to clear dues within 48 hours of procurement. The MSP for the 2025-26 kharif season has been fixed at ₹2,389 per quintal for grade A and ₹2,369 per quintal for common paddy, with an additional ₹500 per quintal bonus for ‘sannarakam’ (fine) paddy sold at state-notified centres. He urged officials to make advance transport arrangements to prevent delays in moving stocks from PPCs to rice mills. “Transport contractors must be finalised early. Separate arrangements should be made for sanna and doddu paddy to avoid confusion during milling,” he said. Agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao and chief secretary S Ramakrishna Rao also reviewed district-wise readiness, including the availability of gunny bags, infrastructure, and moisture meters. GFX:Control rooms and farmer helplines (1800-425-00333 / 1967) have been activated in all districts to handle queries and complaints. Special supervisory teams have been appointed at the district, constituency, mandal, and PPC levels for real-time monitoring of operations.
