Punjab Government has already procured 123 Lakh MTs of paddy till date, with an all-time high total arrival of 182 Lac MTs expected in the ongoing Kharif Marketing Season of 2017-18.Addressing a press conference here this afternoon, Principal Secretary Food & Supplies KAP Sinha, while congratulating all the stakeholders for a smooth and hassle –free procurement season, lauded the various state procurement agencies for their cooperation and disclosed that payments of more than Rs. 16,000 Crores have already been made.As per the directions of the Hon'ble Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, the 48-hour deadline for payment to farmers for their crop has been strictly adhered to; and payments have even been credited in the accounts of 7.75 Lac farmers. We have already more than lifted 102 Lac MTs out of total procurement, shared Sinha.
The Government expects arrival of 182 Lac MTs paddy - which is going to be an all time procurement record - and the department and its agencies are fully geared up to the challenge, and the department has already initiated process for additional disbursement of finances under Cash Credit Limit (CCL) from the Central Government, he added.
Pointing out that the State Government has already raised a CCL of Rs. 28,262.84 Crores on October 5, and the department would be requiring an additional sum of Rs. 5,537.38 Crores totalling Rs. 33800.22 Crores. The department has already written to the RBI in this regard, remarked SinhaResponding to a query, KAP Sinha added that One Time Settlement scheme was provided to defaulter rice millers in order to fulfill government's commitment to revive sick units. Many rice millers have taken the advantage of this scheme. However, every policy is subjected to review with the passage of time.On the issue of ID Cess, Director Food Supplies Anindita Mitra informed that with the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST), ID Cess has been subsumed. However, the enhanced Market Fee and RDF @ 3% of MSP, has been approved for KMS 2017-18 by the Government of India.Prominent among others who were present included Special Principal Secretaty to CM Gurkirat Kirpal Singh, Secretary Mandi Board Amit Dhaka, and Director Food Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Anindita Mitra.