With bulk of the wheat in food grain states Punjab and Haryana being harvested, both states have procured over 163 lakh tonnes of the crop this season, food and supplies officials of both states said here on Monday.
Despite initial concerns of damage to wheat crop due to erratic weather conditions in March and April, Punjab has procured nearly 98 lakh tonnes of wheat while Haryana has procured over 65 lakh tonnes.
"Haryana has crossed the target of wheat procurement by procuring 65,08,486 (65.08 lakh) tonnes of wheat so far. The procurement has exceeded the procurement of 62,90,874 (62.90 lakh) tonnes of wheat procured up to the same day last year," Haryana Food and Supplies minister Ram Bilas Sharma said.
The state had set itself a target of procuring 65 lakh tonnes of wheat.
The state's wheat procurement this year is over 2.17 lakh tonnes higher than last year. Over 99.9 percent of the wheat has been procured by government agencies and Sirsa, Karnal and Fatehabad districts were leading in the procurement.
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In Punjab, out of the97.98 lakh tonnes of wheat procured, government agencies have procured over 93.15 lakh tonnes for the central pool and the rest by private traders.
Punjab is looking at a reduced procurement target of 110 lakh tonnes compared to last year's procurement of 119.31 lakh tonnes.
Last month, the Punjab government had drawn flak from farmers and opposition parties, especially the Congress, for tardy procurement of wheat this year. Farmers, who had to suffer due to damage to crops due to unseasonal rains last month, have complained that their stocks were not being procured properly.
The Punjab food department has issued strict directive to all the purchase centres to submit daily report of the lifting and payment position during the ongoing procurement operations, according to a spokesperson of the department.
"The decision was taken after receiving reports of delayed lifting and payments from a few purchase centres," the spokesperson said, adding that officials have been directed to release payments to farmers and commission agents within 48 hours of lifting of wheat.
--Indo-Asian News Service
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