New Delhi   

Rice procurement likely to be less this year

Special Correspondent

Arrangements made for opening over 10,000 purchase centres

NEW DELHI: Procurement of kharif rice (including paddy in terms of rice) this year for the Public Distribution System is estimated to be about 270 lakh tonnes, which is slightly lower than the 279 lakh tonnes procured last year.

According to the Union Ministry of Food and Public Distribution, procurement of kharif foodgrains began on Monday in Punjab, Haryana and Kerala due to early arrivals of paddy. In other major foodgrain producing States such as Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, procurement operations will begin on October 1. In Chhattisgarh, procurement of paddy will start on October 16 and in Bihar and West Bengal on November 1.

The Ministry has made arrangements for opening more than 10,000 purchase centres by government agencies all over the country of which over 1,000 centres would be in Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and UP. Over 600 centres each would be opened in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal and Maharashtra.It has also directed the Food Corporation of India and State foodgrain procurement agencies to open purchase centres and make necessary arrangements for procurement of paddy and coarse grains at minimum support price. However, farmers are free to sell their produce at higher prices, if possible, in the open market, an official press note has said. Control rooms have been set up at Krishi Bhavan here. State governments and the regional offices of the FCI have also been asked to set up control rooms for monitoring procurement operations as well as for investigating complaints of distress sale by farmers in the procuring States.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

"Education Department achieves new landmarks"
Road development work starts in North-East
Ansal brothers should be charged in Uphaar case: CBI
Charge-sheet filed against former NDMC Chairperson
Qutub Festival beckons tourists to the Capital
JNU Students' Union urged to withdraw agitation
`Great Music and People's Tragedies'
Do's and don'ts for dengue patients
Delhi Police PRO retires
Police announce reward in murder case
Celebrating with Radio Mirchi
Inside the silk bazaar
Apollo launches obesity surgery
Religious fervour
Compensation
Afzal to seek Presidential pardon
`Gram sabha nod must for SEZs'
Rice procurement likely to be less this year
Around The City
Briefly
In the Capital Today

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu