Wheat to be procured through 2,000 purchase centres

RBI, other banks approve CCL of Rs18,000 crore

Box: Procurement from April 20

n The procurement for wheat in the state will start on April 20

n Farmers have been asked by the state to keep harvested crop at home before procurement

n The state has asked the Centre for giving incentive to farmers who bring their produce late for purchase centres

n From April 20 to May 5, no incentive is proposed

n Rs50 per quintal is recommended for those who bring produce between May 6 to May 31

n Rs125 for those who bring their harvested crop from June 1 to June 30

n The Centre is yet to reply back

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 7

To maintain social distancing amidst Covid pandemic, Haryana Government on Tuesday planned to procure wheat through 2,000 purchase centres instead of mandis.

“There are about 6,200 villages in the state. We will set up a purchase centre for every three villages. So, a farmer can sell his produce either in his own village or the neighbouring one. Over 2,000 purchase centres will be set up,” said PK Das, Additional Chief Secretary, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department.

Last year, the wheat was procured through 477 mandis.

As the state is facing labour shortage, Das said the department was deliberating on engaging MGNREGA workers and those who were in shelter homes. “Their opinion is being gathered. At purchase centres, labourers of nearby villages will be engaged. We will call a farmer one by one at these centres,” said Das.

Meanwhile, Cash Credit Limit (CCL) of about Rs 18,000 crore for the state has been approved. “The Haryana State Warehousing Corporation and HAFED go for commercial CCL. For HAFED, about Rs 8,000 crore has been approved, while for the warehousing corporation it is around Rs 4,000 crore, and for department the RBI has approved Rs 6,000 crore,” added Das.

The CCL will be used for timely payment to farmers for procurement.

“We are expecting to procure 75 LMT wheat this year. Last year, it was around 95 LMT. We are expecting lower procurement as we are not expecting produce from neighbouring states this year,” said Das.

Meanwhile, the state has allowed registration of farmers on Mera Fasal Mera Byora till April 19.