Punjab falls short of paddy target by 11 LMT

The paddy procurement season is over and the state’s contribution to the central pool is 173.65 lakh metric tonne (LMT), much less than the originally targeted 185 LMT.

Though the state Agriculture Department has been insisting that the yield of paddy has increased, Food and Supply Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak said it had gone down.

Addressing mediapersons after chairing a meeting with district food and supply controllers (DFSCs) here today, the minister said the paddy season was over and that the state government had procured 173.50 LMT paddy out of total 173.65 LMT paddy that arrived in the mandis. A sum of over Rs 39,000 crore had been credited to the accounts of farmers, he said. The milling process had already commenced in Pathankot, Mohali and Ropar districts, he added.