Every grain of paddy will be purchased at MSP: Uttam

Hyderabad: Civil Supplies and Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy has reiterated that every grain of paddy produced in Telangana will be purchased by paying Minimum Support Price (MSP) to farmers.

The Minister also warned of stern action against traders who purchase paddy or other produce below MSP.

Addressing a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan, Uttam Kumar Reddy dismissed the allegations levelled by opposition BRS leaders of a scam in the global tenders called by the Civil Supplies Corporation to dispose of enormous paddy stocks.

The Minister said former minister Harish Rao, former BRS MLA Jeevan Reddy, and other BRS leaders were levelling baseless allegations, lacking subject knowledge of either paddy procurement or auction.

Giving a comparative statement on paddy procurement this year (as of April 14) compared to the previous year, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that as against 7,031 Paddy Procurement Centers (PPCs) proposed last year, this year, their number has increased to 7,149 centres.

While only 335 PPCs were opened by April 14 last year, this year, as of March 25, a total of 6,919 centres have been opened. Whereas only 233 Metric Tonnes (MTs) of paddy were procured last year, as of April 14, a total of 269,699 MTs (2.70 LMTs) have been procured so far, the Minister disclosed.

“As of the current date, paddy procurement is significantly higher than the previous year,” he said while sharing the district-wise breakdown of PCCs opened and the quantity of paddy purchased in Rabi 2023-24.

Never in the past were PCCs opened before April. However, this year, special permission was taken from the Centre to start the PCCs on March 25, Uttam Kumar Reddy said.

“We have coordinated with the rice millers to unload and acknowledge the quantities immediately. Teams have been constituted for random inspection to ensure quality and avoid bogus transactions. We have ensured timely payment of MSP to farmers through banks only. We have ensured all the infrastructure is available in all the centres, and PPCs Incharges were thoroughly trained,” the Minister said.

Explaining the paddy auction, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the MSP operations are for the benefit of farmers and not to earn profits for the government.

Alleging that the Civil Supplies Corporation was pushed into a debt of Rs 58,000 crore in the last ten years due to mismanagement by the BRS regime, the Minister said that the Congress government had reduced the same loan by more than Rs. 5,000 crores in a quarter, which is a self-evident and shining example of the Congress government’s performance.            

“The Congress government has been taking up the paddy procurement process transparently and with utmost commitment and dedication. The District Collectors had been given clear direction to open more procurement centres wherever required. At the same time, the farmers should not sell their produce below the MSP under any circumstances,” Uttam said.