Telangana becomes a role model in paddy procurement- The New Indian Express

Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Civil Supplies Corporation Chairman Mareddy Srinivas Reddy stated on Saturday that Telangana was a role model to other states with regard to paddy procurement. Addressing the staff on the occasion of completing one year in office here on Saturday, he said that officials from rice-rich states like Punjab and Chhattisgarh had visited Telangana to study the technology being used. 

He also said that the upgradation of the Online Procurement Management System (OPMS) has helped curb the intervention of middlemen in paddy procurement. “The payment is made directly to the farmer’s accounts without any delay. From 2016-17 till now, 45 lakh farmers have been paid a sum of Rs 37,000 crore directly into their accounts,” he said.

He stated that ration portability had benefitted people who migrate from one place to another in search of employment. In Telangana, 2.83 crore beneficiaries were getting commodities through the Public Distribution System. 

With the introduction of the portability system, beneficiaries could take commodities from any ration shop, he said, adding that over 3 crore transactions had been done through the system. In Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy and Medchal districts recorded more number of transactions under ration portability. Reddy stated that the paddy yield had been steadily increasing after the formation of Telangana state.

In 2014-15, soon after the formation of the State, the Civil Supplies Corporation was formed and it purchased over 24 lakh tonnes of paddy. Whereas in 2018-19, the corporation procured 77 lakh tonnes of paddy. “In a short span of five years, purchases increased by 318 per cent. Last year, the State stood second in the country in paddy procurement,” he explained. 

The Civil Supplies Corporation has so far purchased over 44 lakh tonnes of paddy in the Kharif season and another two lakh tonnes is expected to be procured soon. During the last Kharif season, the corporation purchased 40.41 lakh metric tonnes of paddy from 8,09,885 farmers through 3,297 paddy purchase centres.