Bhopal : In fulfillment of its commitment to welfare of farmers, Madhya Pradesh government has directly deposited over Rs one thousand crore in the bank accounts of farmers against procurement of wheat on support price in last 25 days. This amount includes bonus paid at the rate of Rs 100 per quintal by the state government. This aims at saving the farmers from clutches of middlemen besides benefiting genuine farmers. This process will go on in future too. This remarkable achievement shows that the announcement of the Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh has come into force in the stateDuring the Rabi season, over 8.5 lakh metric tonne wheat has already been procured. In many areas, the sowing was delayed due to belated rains. In these areas, harvesting is in progress and after Nauratri festival the arrival of crops in market will increase. Out of the procured wheat, 5.69 lakh tonne has been safely stored in godowns. In order to rule out any possibility of irregularities in the payment, the state government has introduced the system of directly depositing the amount in bank accounts of farmers. There is no shortage of Hessian bags and the same are still available for another 25 lakh metric tonne wheat. The procurement process is being consistently monitored and all the ministers have taken up of this responsibility in the field.
Transparent Process Of Payment
In order to ensure proper and hassle free payment of their produce to farmers, the state government has put in place a transparent mechanism from this year. Now, at the time of selling their produce, the farmers fill up a proforma on the basis of their loan books at the procurement centre. The loan books show the name of their banks as well as their account numbers. The cooperative societies duly acknowledge this and record of quantity procured and the price thereof. Subsequently, the societies send the statement along with the details of concerning farmers daily to the banks concerned. On the basis of this, the amount is deposited in farmers’ bank accounts.
Rs 4200 Crore Paid Last Year
Procurement of farm produce on support price is the only largest scheme that directly benefits the farmers. Madhya Pradesh government is the first in the country to provide bonus on support price to the farmers. The Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan increased the pre-decided bonus amount of Rs 50 to Rs 100 per quintal. This year also, the same amount is being paid as bonus. Last year, over 35 lakh metric tonne wheat was procured on support price and Rs 4200 crore was paid to the farmers against this. This included Rs 350 paid as bonus.
This Year’s Target Is 35 Lakh Metric Tonne
Encouraged by procurement of last year, the state government has fixed the target of 35 lakh metric tonne for this year. The procurement started on March 15 and till April 9, 8.5 lakh metric tonne has already been procured. The state civil supplies corporation procured wheat in 23 districts and marketing federation did the same in remaining districts. The highest quantity of 1 lakh 44 thousand 990 metric tonne was procured in Harda district. The procurement will continue till May 31.
Sufficient Hessian Bags Available
With a view to ensuring smooth procurement, the state government has already arranged one lakh 22 thousand 819 bales of Hessian bags for 25 lakh metric tonne. One bale comprises five hundred Hessian bags. By now, 33 thousand 382 bales have been used and 89 thousand 437 are still available.
Number Of Procurement Centres Increased
The state government has been increasing the number of procurement centres as per the targets. Last year, the target was to set up 1250 procurement centres but till last date of procurement, the number was increased to 1652. So far this year, 1862 procurement centres have been set up.
Special Transport Arrangements For Four Districts
Four districts including Harda, Hoshangabad, Raisen and Sehore are reporting maximum procurement in view of which the procured wheat is being transported by rail to the godowns in other districts. As per requirement cap storage is being arranged and it is being ensured that the wheat is not affected by rains. This responsibility has been assigned to state warehousing corporation.
