Chhattisgarh to procure paddy, maize from Nov 1 in ongoing kharif season

The procurement of paddy and maize at the support price from farmers will begin in Chhattisgarh from November 1in the ongoing Kharif season, according to officials.

Notably, the procurement drive will coincide with the assembly elections due this year-end.

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel had announced earlier that 20 quintals of paddy per acre and 10 quintals of maize per acre will be procured from farmers.

The policy for the 'procurement and custom milling of paddy and maize at the support price' was finalized during the Cabinet meeting chaired by the chief minister on Tuesday at his official residence here.

While the paddy procurement drive will be carried out from November 1 to January 31, 2024, the maize procurement will continue from November 1 to February 28, said a public relations department official.

The cabinet has also decided to extend the validity of the government guarantee (amount of Rs 14, 700 crore) to the Chhattisgarh State Cooperative Marketing Federation for paddy procurement by one year till October 31, 2024, for the Kharif marketing year 2023-24, he said.

Among other decisions, the Cabinet approved giving a 15 per cent discount to journalists on the purchase of houses in Kaushalya Mata Vihar. As per the first-stage estimate, an amount of Rs 6.37 crore has been sanctioned to the Raipur Development Authority for the rebate to be provided to 309 journalists, he said.

In the Chhattisgarh budget session, Baghel had announced to procure 20 quintals of paddy per acre from farmers which was earlier 15 quintals per acre.

Apart from the support price fixed by the Centre, the kharif paddy cultivators in Chhattisgarh also get an input subsidy of Rs 9000 per acre under the state government's ambitious Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojna.