The Hindu : Front Page : Paddy to be procured at Rs. 8.50 a kg

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Aug 29, 2006

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Front Page

Paddy to be procured at Rs. 8.50 a kg

Special Correspondent

Steps to prevent bogus cooperatives from taking advantage of procurement

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Government on Monday decided to procure paddy at Rs.8.50 a kg from farmers during the current season.

Announcing this at a press conference here, Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan said the procurement would start soon at important paddy producing centres such as Palakkad, Kottayam and Kuttanad.

The Agriculture Department, the State Civil Supplies Corporation and the Finance Department would be jointly making the arrangements for this, the Chief Minister said after a high-level conference of Ministers and officials convened by him.

He said the procurement was being undertaken for the benefit of the farmers as well as the consumers, as demanded by the farmers' organisations. The Civil Supplies Corporation would process the paddy procured and distribute it to consumers through its outlets.

He noted that many small farmers were being forced to sell paddy at low prices during season, as they had no facility to store them. The procurement scheme would help them to sell paddy at remunerative prices.

The Chief Minister said bogus cooperatives would not be allowed to profit from the official procurement by bringing paddy from outside the State. Paddy would be accepted on the basis of certification as to the identity of the farmers and the place of cultivation. The entire paddy supplied by farmers would be procured, and sufficient funds would be made available for that.

Professional courses

Mr. Achuthanandan said that Government had not taken decisions on modalities for admissions to the professional colleges, as it was yet to receive copy of last week's judgement on the issue by the Supreme Court. Consultations would be held after receiving the judgement.

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