 "Kharif procurement to begin from Oct 1, Khattar holds high-level meeting")
As procurement of various Kharif crops including paddy will begin in Haryana from October 1, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday evening chaired a high-level meeting.
In the meeting, the Chief Minister was apprised by the officials that for this season government aims to procure around 55 lakh metric tonne of paddy.
The procurement of Kharif crops will be done at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) as announced by the Government of India, said Khattar.
The MSP of Rs 2,040 per quintal has been fixed for Paddy (common), Rs 2,060 per quintal for paddy (Grade-A), and Rs 2,350 per quintal for bajra.
During the Kharif marketing season 2022-23, crops like paddy, bajra, maize, moong, sunflower, groundnut, til, arhar and urad, etc. will be procured.
The Divisional and Deputy Commissioners and the chairmen of government procurement agencies also attended the meeting held through video conferencing.
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Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, Chief Secretary, Sanjeev Kaushal, Chief Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, D S Dhesi, among others were also present in the meeting.
"As the procurement of Kharif crops will begin from October 1, therefore proper installation of moisture meters, weighing scales along with proper transportation facilities, timely lifting, installation of CCTV camera and further strengthening of Mandi infrastructures should be ensured," directed Khattar.
The Chief Minister said that since recent heavy rains lashed various parts of the state just a week before procurement it has caused problems for the farmers who have already brought their crops to the Mandis, therefore the officers concerned should ensure that the proper drying up of such crops is done before final procurement.
According to an official statement, he further directed that the officers should also ensure that the moisture content in the crop brought for the procurement should be within the prescribed limits.
"Proper installation of moisture meters should be ensured and the old ones should also be replaced after proper calibrations. Digital moisture meters have been installed in most of the Mandis but for the satisfaction of the farmers, even the manual ones should also be kept in the mandis. Farmer satisfaction should be our utmost priority", Khattar told the officials.
The Chief Minister directed that apart from the Administrative Secretaries, the Deputy Commissioners should also regularly visit the mandis to ensure hassle-free procurement.
The timely redressal of the grievances of the farmers should be done. A meeting should be held with millers and the paddy distribution should be done transparently, he told them.
Khattar directed that crop stock clearance should also be done on regular basis. For this, the Deputy Commissioners should do regular inspections of the Mandis.
Additional purchase centres should be set up near every Mandi to avoid overcrowding.
"Separate SOPs should also be prepared and distributed for farmers, the marketing board, millers, arthiyas (commission agents) and Mandis. Pamphlets carrying important information should be distributed in the Mandis," directed Khattar.
He said that the administrative Secretaries should personally visit the Mandis to review the procurement arrangements and to ensure that farmers visiting the Mandis do not face any problems.
Ensuring timely payment to every farmer is of utmost priority to the State Government, hence every officer concerned should ensure that the payment is transferred within 72 hours after crops are procured, he said.
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