Raipur 15 December 2024/ Under the guidance of Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Dev Sai, a total of 50 lakh metric tonnes of paddy has been procured from farmers in the state so far at support price. 14.52 lakh metric tonnes of paddy has been purchased in Raipur division, 9.76 lakh metric tonnes in Bilaspur division, 17.79 lakh metric tonnes in Durg division, 4.13 lakh metric tonnes in Bastar division and 3.80 lakh metric tonnes in Surguja division.
Out of total 27.78 lakh registered farmers in the state, till now 10.66 lakh farmers have sold paddy at support price. These include 2.92 lakh small and marginal farmers and 6.26 lakh large farmers. Farmers are being paid for their crops at a fast pace. Till now, an amount of Rs 10,770 crore has been transferred by the marketing association to Apex Bank. Under this, the amount is being transferred regularly to the bank accounts of the concerned farmers. Micro ATMs have been arranged at the procurement centers for the convenience of the farmers. Also, instructions have been given to the District Cooperative Central Banks to provide adequate cash so that the farmers do not face any kind of inconvenience.
Special attention has been paid to the arrangement of gunny bags for paddy procurement. As per the policy of Government of India, old and new gunny bags are being used in 50:50 ratio. To procure the estimated 160 lakh metric tonnes of paddy in the state, 4 lakh bales of new gunny bags are required, out of which 3.65 lakh bales have been made available so far. The remaining gunny bags will be received in the next 15-20 days.
So far, 54,153 bales have been used as PDS gunny bags, 1,40,924 bales as miller gunny bags and 12,747 bales as farmer gunny bags. There is no shortage of gunny bags in all the procurement centres. 
The work of collection and storage of procured paddy is going on smoothly. This year the storage capacity has been increased to 37.25 lakh metric tons. In the centers where paddy is being stored in excess of the storage capacity, transport orders are being issued and transportation of paddy is being done to the nearest storage centres. So far, transportation orders for 9.09 lakh metric tonnes of paddy have been issued.
Applications from 2133 millers have been received for custom milling, out of which 1672 rice millers have been registered. Delivery orders for 3.37 lakh metric tonnes of paddy have been issued to these millers.
Strict action is being taken to stop recycling in paddy procurement. So far, 733 cases have been registered and 41,303 quintals of illegal paddy has been seized. 273 checkposts have been set up in the border districts, where regular monitoring is being done. The work of physical verification at procurement centers and uploading of data on the portal by nodal officers is also going on.
According to the information received from the Food Department, rice millers are returning from the declared strike. Registration, permission contracts and milling contracts of rice mills are continuously increasing.
