The State-level Paddy Procurement Committee headed by Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy met on Wednesday and decided to procure 60 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of paddy during the current year.
Tripathy directed the Food Supply and Consumer Welfare Department to ensure that all farmers get their price through bank accounts within 48 hours of paddy procurement.
He too directed the department to engage Women Self-Help Groups in paddy procurement work.
It was decided that 150 WSHGs would be engaged in nine districts. The meeting stressed on linking of Aadhaar Card of farmers with the P-PAS so that paddy procurement process would be free from middlemen and traders.
FS and CW Secretary Vir Vikram Yadav informed
that as many as 12.35 lakh farmers have been registered under the P-PAS so far. Paddy procurement will begin from November and continue till March.
While a total of 2,668 PACS will procure paddy, 125 of them will have off-line system due to absence of internet, informed the Secretary.
The millers who have not returned 100 per cent rice of the last year paddy procurement season will not be allowed to participate.
Paddy will be procured at a total of 3,311 Mandis and 259 depots. A total of 1,300 millers have been listed. They have been asked to procure common paddy at Rs 1,815 per quintal and A-Grade paddy at Rs 1,835 per quintal.
