Haryana issues guidelines for procurement of paddy, bajra

Haryana government today said it has issued guidelines for the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2016 beginning October 1.
The procurement of leviable paddy would begin on October 1, and continue up to December 15 and the period of procurement of bajra would also begin on the same date till November 15, an official spokesman said here.
The Central Government has fixed Minimum Support Price (MSP) of paddy as Rs 1,470 per quintal for common variety and for Grade A variety it is Rs 1,510 per quintal.
He said in case of coarse grain, the MSP for Bajra is Rs 1,330 per quintal, Jowar (hybrid) Rs 1,625 per quintal and Maize (Maladandi) will be procured at MSP of Rs 1,625 per quintal.

He said on the basis of reports from Agriculture Department and field, it is estimated that about 42 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of leviable paddy would arrive in the mandis and purchase centres of Haryana.
Procurement agencies' share of purchase would be about 41 LMT. The rest about one LMT is expected to be purchased by millers and dealers.

The leviable paddy purchased by the procurement agencies will have to be got milled and the entire Custom Milled Rice (CMR) manufactured from such paddy will have to be delivered to Central Pool by the end of March 2017.
He said the state government is committed to make payments to farmers within 48-72 hours. Sufficient cash credit limit for purchase of Paddy and Bajra is being arranged from Reserve Bank of India.

The payment to farmers will be made through Billing-cum-Payment Agents (BCPAs) and Kachha Arthiya or as per the choice of the farmer is direct payment or through commission agent.
The BCPAs will ensure timely payment to the farmers through arhtiyas, proper weighment of foodgrains, maintenance of proper accounts of foodgrains purchased and lifting the stocks from kacha arhtias.
The specifications for Kharif Marketing Season 2016-17 have been received from the Central Government and circulated to all concerned. Damaged, sprouted and weevilled grains should not exceed four per cent.
In case of paddy, the maximum limit of inorganic as well as organic foreign matter is one per cent. The maximum limit of damaged, discoloured, sprouted and weeviled grains is five per cent.

Similarly, the maximum limit of immature, shrunken, shriveled grains is three per cent and that of admixture of lower classes six per cent. The maximum limit of moisture Content is 17 per cent, he said.