Eight lakh tonnes paddy procured in Bihar till date: Minister

Patna,(BiharTimes): Out of a target of 30 lakh metric tonnes by March 31 the Bihar government has till now procured eight lakh metric tonnes of paddy. The farmers have so far been paid Rs 850 crore towards procurement of their paddy produces.

According to Food and Civil Supply minister Shyam Rajak the Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACSs) were the largest procurer at 6.5 lakh metric tonnes, while the State Food Corporation (SFC) and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) have procured one lakh metric tonne and 50,000 metric tonnes respectively.

The farmers have been paid Rs 850 crores through account payee cheques in lieu of procurement of their paddy.

The minister said adequate arrangements have been made for storage of paddy and base camps have been set up at the compound of 53 market committees throughout the state and cold storages and private godowns too were being used for the purpose. In order to keep the procurement target on track, the Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner were conducting video conferencing with the district officials on regular basis for update in this regard.

Sources are keeping fingers crossed as to whether another 22 lakh tonnes of paddy would be procured in the next one and a half month.

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