Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Chandigarh
Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday reviewed the wheat procurement operations and directed the Food and Civil Supplies Department to facilitate the farmers and ensure that their produce is procured within 24 hours of arrival in the mandis. He also directed the department to expedite the pace of lifting.
A spokesperson for the Food and Civil Supplies Department said more than 60 per cent of the crop had already arrived in the mandis. The arrivals have peaked with more than 10 lakh MT arriving daily for the past three-four days and with the 3-5% anticipated increase in wheat production, the state is heading towards a record purchase of more than 132 LMT.
He said despite adverse weather conditions and untimely rains, the department had so far procured 79.66 LMT in the state till April 29. He said payment worth Rs 4,300 crore had so far been released by the state for payment to the farmers.
He said the state-wide capacity to lift wheat was limited to about 5.5 LMT in a day, whereas the daily arrivals had been more than 10 LMT for the past few days. Consequently, certain mandis might be experiencing a glut-like situation, which was inevitable and occurred for about six-seven days every year during the procurement season, he said, adding that the situation was expected to ease after a couple of days as procurement reached its final stages.
State heading towards record purchase
The arrivals have peaked with more than 10 lakh MT arriving daily for the past three-four days and with the 3-5% anticipated increase in wheat production, the state is heading towards a record purchase of more than 132 LMT.
