Telangana State Civil Supplies Corporation and other agencies have purchased about 19 lakh tonnes of paddy at minimum support price at 5,703 procurement centres opened so far. The procurement of paddy produced this Kharif season is 2 lakh tonnes higher than what was purchased till November 25 last year.
According to Chairman of the TSCSC M. Srinivas Reddy, a maximum of 5.2 lakh tonnes was purchases in Nizamabad district followed by 2.86 lakh tonnes in Kamareddy, 2.1 lakh tonnes in Karimnagar so far. He stated that paddy purchases in the three districts had already been completed in the range of 70% to 90%.
Since formation of the State, the Corporation had procured 5.06 crore tonnes paddy worth about ₹88,000 crore so far. It included 24.29 lakh tonnes in 2014-15, 23.56 lakh tonnes in 2015-16, 35.7 lakh tonnes in 2016-17, 53.99 lakh tonnes in 2017-18, 77.46 lakh tonnes in 2018-19, 1.11 crore tonnes in 2019-20 and 1.41 crore tonnes in 2020-21.
Mr. Reddy stated that the pace of paddy procurement this year was better than that in last year as 19 lakh tonnes had been purchased so far against 17 lakh tonnes by the same time last year. He pointed that rice for the public distribution system used to come from Punjab during the combined Andhra Pradesh dispensation, while Telangana had been supplying boiled and raw rice to Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Odisha and other States till last year.
Admitting that the farming community was facing some difficulties in disposing of their produce at the procurement centres due to untimely rains this season, Mr. Srinivas Reddy said in spite of some adversities the procurement was 2 lakh tonnes higher this year compared to last year till the fourth week of November.
He also made it clear that the quality specification of paddy for procurement (fair average quality norms) were fixed by the FCI/Centre and there was no role for the State Government in it. He mentioned that maximum moisture content allowed was 17% and the percentage of immature, shrunken and shrivelled grain was 3. Foreign matter allowed is 2% (1% inorganic and 1% organic matter).
Besides, there was limit for admixture of lower class up to 6% and damaged, discoloured, sprouted and weeveled grains up to 5%.
He explained that the old usable gunny bags were being purchased at ₹30.25 per bag through tenders and at ₹21 per bag from fair price shop dealers.
The procurement price of old gunny sacks in Haryana was ₹33.25 per bag and ₹44 in Haryana. The price of new new gunnies was at ₹70.96 per bag from October this year.
