1806 mandis have been set up in the entire Punjab and rice mills have been linked with these mandis using computerised GPS.
Published Sep 28, 2023 | 12:49 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 28, 2023 | 12:49 PM
Paddy crop. Representational Image. (Creative Commons)
With Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2023-24 starting from 1 October in Punjab, the state government stepped up facilities at all mandis (grain markets) to ensure congenial conditions for more than 8 lakh farmers expected to visit them.
1806 mandis have been set up in the entire Punjab and rice mills have been linked with these mandis using computerised GPS.
Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak, while chairing a meeting to review the preparations regarding the KMS 2023-24, said that the farmers and other stakeholders such as Arhtiyas (commission agents) should not be made to encounter any difficulties.
“Hassle-free procurement along with smooth lifting and payments on the first day itself in the accounts of the farmers must be made sure. Cash Credit Limit (CCL) of ₹37,625.68 crore has been authorised by the RBI for the paddy procurement season”, Kataruchak said.
He added, “Bio-metric authentication of the farmers would be done at every mandi and a Nodal Officer would also be appointed to keep a hawk’s eye on all the arrangements.”
Elaborating further on the arrangements he said, “Procurement target has been fixed at 182 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT) for which gunny bags have been arranged in adequate numbers. This time 480 new rice mills have qualified for the allotment stage.”
Batting for the transparency in the entire procurement process, Katurchak warned that malpractices would not be tolerated at any cost and said that Nakas should be set up at all the significant places to stop the paddy coming from other states to be sold at mandis of Punjab.
Also, it would be mandatory for the cartage contractors who carry custom milled rice (CMR) as well as the millers, who must also declare the quantity available to them, to implement the vehicle tracking system. Besides, an online gate pass mechanism would also be made use of.
