The Centre on Wednesday sanctioned the Cash Credit Limit (CCL) of Rs 26,707.50 crore for the procurement of paddy in the Kharif marketing season 2019-20 for the month of October.
An official spokesperson said the amount has been released by the RBI towards credit limit till end of October 2019.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had been personally pursuing the issue of early release of CCL with central government to ensure timely payment to farmers against their crop, a spokesperson said.
Expressing satisfaction at the pace of procurement, Amarinder directed the food minister to ensure prompt lifting of the produce and release of payments to farmers within the stipulated timeframe.
As of today, a total of 3,26,839 metric tonnes of paddy has been procured by state procurement agencies, with PUNGRAIN purchasing 1,27,575 MTs, followed by MARKFED (80025), PUNSUP (48387) and PSWC (38116). FCI has purchased 5627 MTs.
Amarinder has reiterated his government's commitment to facilitating smooth and hassle-free procurement in the Mandis across the state.
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With 29.20 lakh hectares of area under paddy cultivation, Punjab is targeting procurement of 170 lakh Metric Tonnes in the ongoing season which began on first of this month, said the spokesperson.
Elaborate arrangements had been made to provide hassle free procurement experience to farmers bringing their produce to mandis. The Punjab Mandi Board has already notified 1734 Purchase Centers for seamless procurement of paddy, the spokesperson added.
During the previous KMS 2018-19, a total of 170.18 LMT paddy was procured, of which 169.10 LMT paddy was procured by government agencies, while traders/millers procured only 1.08 LMT.
During KMS 2019-20, the state agencies will procure 161.50 LMT paddy and FCI will procure 8.50 LMT paddy.