Punjab Chief Secretary Reviews Smooth Wheat Procurement, Ensures Timely Payments to Farmers

Punjab Chief Secretary Reviews Smooth Wheat Procurement, Ensures Timely Payments to Farmers

Punjab Chief Secretary Anurag Verma visited the Khanna grain market to closely monitor the ongoing wheat procurement process in the state. Verma emphasized the government’s commitment to ensuring a seamless procurement experience for farmers and timely payments.

According to the Chief Secretary, the state is expected to witness the arrival of 132 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT) of wheat in the mandis (grain markets) this season. As of the previous evening, 66.8 LMT of wheat had already arrived, which is about half the expected crop. Out of this, 91% or 60.9 LMT has been procured.

Verma stated that the government is making concerted efforts to ensure that the crop is cleaned, purchased, and weighed within 24 hours of its arrival in the mandis. Once this process is completed, the farmers are free to leave the mandi. The payments are then credited into their accounts within 48 hours, and the farmers receive an SMS notification.

The Chief Secretary further revealed that as per the norms of payment within 48 hours, Rs. 7,950 crore was due to be paid to the farmers. However, the government has already made payments worth Rs. 9,170 crore to over 4 lakh farmers, meaning that in many cases, the farmers have been paid even before the 48-hour deadline.

Verma interacted with farmers at the Khanna mandi, who confirmed the smooth procurement and timely payment process. Sukhdeep Singh, a farmer from Bhamaddi village, said that he had brought his crop to the mandi at 7 AM and it was purchased by 12:30 PM. Similarly, Narinder Singh from Hussainpur village stated that his crop was purchased at 12:40 PM after he had brought it to the mandi at 7:30 AM.

The Chief Secretary acknowledged that due to a delay in harvesting, the arrivals in the mandis were initially slow but have now peaked suddenly. To address this, the state machinery is working round the clock to ensure that farmers do not face any issues. Last year, the peak lifting in a single day was 4.8 LMT, but yesterday, it crossed this limit and reached 5.5 LMT. Verma said that he is reviewing the progress with Deputy Commissioners via video conference every alternate day and has directed them to visit the mandis daily to ensure that the lifting is increased to 6.5 LMT per day.

Regarding the Khanna mandi specifically, Verma informed that until the previous evening, 54,000 MT of wheat had arrived, and 100% of it had been purchased. The payment of Rs. 52 crore due to the farmers within 48 hours of purchase has already been made, and an additional Rs. 20 crore has been paid, totaling Rs. 72 crore.

The Chief Secretary emphasized the government’s commitment to ensuring that the farmers’ entire crop is purchased immediately in the mandis and that they are paid within 48 hours. He urged farmers to report any issues regarding purchase or payment on the government’s toll-free number 1100, assuring that immediate action will be taken.

Verma was accompanied by the Director of Food and Civil Supplies, Puneet Goyal, the Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney, and the SSP Amneet Kondal, among others, during his visit to the Khanna mandi.

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