We Will Distribute Six Kg Fine Rice to Three Crore People: Uttam

Hyderabad: Civil supplies minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the Civil Supplies Corporation (TGCSC) would distribute six kg of fine rice to each of the three crore people in the state from January. The government will also give Rs 500 as a bonus for fine rice paddy from the Kharif season, while separate procurement centres would be set up for the coarse and fine variety of paddy this season.

Addressing officials at a review of the department here on Monday, the minister said, “Defaulting millers will not be given paddy for custom rice milling and the borders will be watched for the produce that come from outside the state. The government is hoping for 88,09,000 metric tonnes of yield in the 36,80,000 acres of fine rice being cultivated.”

The corporation will set up 7,139 paddy procurement centres for the ensuing kharif season. It has set a target of 146 lakh tonnes of paddy for the season. The department is for the first time taking go downs for storing 40 lakh metric tonnes of grains. Coarse variety paddy has been cultivated in 23,58,000 acres and is expected to produce 58,18,000 metric tonnes of paddy. In all, the state is projected to produce 91,38,000 lakh metric tonnes of paddy.

“Every grain of paddy will be purchased. The government is trying to veer farmers towards fine varieties by giving Rs 500 as bonus. Paddy purchases which will start in the first week of October will end by the end of January,” the minister said announcing the schedule of such purchases.

The procurement will be made in 4,496 PACS (Primary Agriculture Co-operative Societies), 2,102 IKP centres and 541 other purchase centres through other agencies.

Those who participated in the meeting include civil supplies commissioner D.S. Chauhan, joint secretary Priyanka Ala, state warehousing corporation managing director Lakshmi and marketing director Uday Kumar among others.