Chhattisgarh to start paddy procurement from November 14 with a target of 160 lakh tonnes

In Chhattisgarh, the procurement of paddy for the Kharif season 2024-25 will begin on 14th November 2024, and continue until 31st January 2025. This decision was made during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, chaired by Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai.

Deputy Chief Minister Arun Sao provided details about the meeting, stating that the cabinet approved the policy for paddy procurement and custom milling at the support price for the Kharif marketing season 2024-25. The state government has set a target to procure 160 lakh tonnes of paddy. The registration process for farmers is ongoing through the Integrated Farmers Portal, which will remain open until October 31.

To facilitate the paddy procurement, the government will continue using a biometric system as in the previous year. It was decided that small and marginal farmers would receive a maximum of two tokens, while large farmers would receive up to three tokens for the controlled and systematic procurement of paddy at procurement centers.

All paddy procurements will be conducted using electronic weighing machines across all procurement centers. The government has approved the procurement of 4.02 lakh bundles of new jute bags through the Jute Commissioner, although a total of approximately 8 lakh bundles will be required, along with 8 lakh bundles of gunny bags.

Additionally, it was decided in the cabinet meeting that for the Kharif marketing season 2023-24, data entry operators working in cooperative societies will be paid a total honorarium of 12 months at the rate of Rs 18,420 per month. This will result in a total expenditure of approximately Rs 60 crore 54 lakh, which will be disbursed to Markfed as in previous years.