Hyderabad: Transport and BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar on Monday directed officials to ensure the Paddy maize procurement process moved smoothly in Karimnagar district without causing inconvenience to farmers.
The minister chaired a review meeting at the Karimnagar district collectorate on paddy and maize procurement measures. MLAs Kavvampalli Satyanarayana and Medipalli Satyam, State Library Chairman Sattu Mallesh, District Collector Chitra Mishra, Police Commissioner Gaus Alam, officials, rice millers and lorry association representatives attended the meeting.
Ponnam Prabhakar instructed officials to speed up procurement and prevent problems at procurement centres. Earlier, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy held a video conference with district officials and issued directions on procurement arrangements.
Meanwhile, the minister said the entire administrative machinery was working to ensure faster procurement in the district. He added that officials were actively monitoring the process at the field level.
He said the district fixed a target of procuring around three lakh metric tonnes of paddy during the current season. According to officials, farmers had already brought nearly three lakh metric tonnes of paddy to the 314 procurement centres in the district.
Paddy maize procurement to continue on war footing
Ponnam Prabhakar said officials had already procured 1.58 lakh metric tonnes of paddy in the district. He instructed them to procure the remaining 1.5 lakh metric tonnes on a war footing.
The minister said officials had already cleared 63 per cent of payments for the procured grain. Additionally, banks deposited Rs.237.39 crore into farmers’ accounts.
He said the district administration was extending full support for the procurement process. However, he urged rice millers and lorry owners to cooperate with the government and increase the number of lorries for grain transportation.
The minister also directed officials to avoid shortages of hamalis at procurement centres and rice mills. Furthermore, he said farmers should not wait for several days after bringing grain to procurement centres.
Ponnam Prabhakar instructed officials to take preventive measures to avoid delays caused by labour shortages. Besides, he said authorities should deploy additional staff at PACS centres facing operational difficulties.
The minister said the government’s primary objective was to complete the Paddy maize procurement process without causing inconvenience to farmers.