Paddy purchases to be sped up

Gadwal: District Collector B M Santosh directed officials to expedite the paddy procurement process during an inspection of the IKP-run paddy procurement centre in Konder village of Itikyala Mandal on Wednesday. The Collector was accompanied by Additional Collector Narsing Rao.

During the visit, the District Collector reviewed the paddy procurement operations and instructed the staff to ensure that the procured paddy is weighed and promptly transported to rice mills.

He emphasised the need for immediate tab entries of the data. The Collector enquired about the details of the paddy arriving at the procurement centres and inspected several records related to the procurement process. Using a digital moisture meter, the Collector personally tested the moisture content of the paddy and stated that paddy with up to 17% moisture content should be procured at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and immediately transported to rice mills. The Collector further ordered that all data related to paddy procurement should be updated in the OPMS system within 24 hours and that physical records must align with the information available online. He directed Additional DRDO to monitor the operations at all procurement centers to ensure the smooth functioning of the process and to prevent any inconvenience to farmers.

The government has announced an MSP of Rs 2,320 per quintal for paddy, along with an additional bonus of Rs 500 for Grade-B paddy. Officials were instructed to ensure that no procured paddy is left in storage and that it is transported to the mills without delay.