Chief Minister Raman Singh on Sunday said that this year, a total of 14.54 lakh farmers have done registration for paddy procurement, which is nearly 1.5 lakh more than the number of farmers registered last year.
Singh in his 15th episode of 'Raman Ke Goth' Radio programme. said that the State Government has established 1986 procurement centres under cooperative societies for paddy procurement. This year 41 'krishi mandis' in the State are also ready to procure paddy at support price.
Jan-Dhan accounts of most of the registered farmers have been linked with their Aadhaar cards, so that the payment against paddy procurement could be transferred directly to their accounts, he said.
Paddy procurement will commence from November 15 and go on till January 31, 2017. This year farmers will get Rs 60 per quintal more compared to that of previous year. Support price for thick variety of paddy is Rs 1470 and for thin variety it is Rs 1510, Singh said.
Procurement will be done at the rate of Rs 15 per quintal from each farmer, Singh said.
He requested farmers that they should ensure that the paddy they bring to procurement centres should not have moisture more than 17%. It is the parameter set at national-level, he said.
The Chief Minister appealed the officials and employees appointed at paddy procurement centres to behave nicely and respectfully with farmers.
He directed them to ensure proper arrangements for paddy procurement.
Singh asked them to cooperate with the farmers and complete procurement process in a positive environment, so that the farmers may return home satisfied.
He said “officials concerned should maintain good arrangement of paddy procurement, as it is not only the way to serve farmers but also a form of service to the nation for it provide rice to our country for public distribution system.”
The Chief Minister informed the listeners that Chhattisgarh ranks third in terms of supplying rice to the central pool. Farmers of the State are playing a crucial role in smooth implementation of public distribution system.
In his radio programme, the Chief Minister also talked about Saur Sujala Yojana, which was commenced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Chhattisgarh Rajyotsav.
He said “under this scheme 51,000 farmers of the State will be provided solar irrigation pumps at heavily subsidized rates. Solar pumps that cost around Rs 3.5 to 4 lakhs will be provided to farmers at the subsidized rate of Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000, based on their eligibility. “
The Saur Sujala Yojana will facilitate irrigation of 2.5 lakh acres of land. In this way, this scheme is a revolutionary initiative, Singh said.
“There are some areas in the State, where farmers have to face problems due to unavailability of proper irrigation facilities. Electrification of these areas are extremely difficult, which is why the farmers there are unable to use electric pumps for irrigation. Saur Sujala Yojana has been initiated especially for these farmers”, he said.
The Chief Minister congratulated Korba resident Shreyansh Jaiswal for securing first rank in India in badminton senior category and Akarshi Kashyap for becoming the number one player in the country in under-17 category.
He also mentioned about Chhattisgarh's Ananya Chauksey and lakshman, son of a rickshaw-puller Seetaram, for their excellent performance and achievements in national TV shows.
Singh said that children in Chhattisgarh are not only excelling the academics but are also performing exceedingly well in sports and other fields.