NE NEWS SERVICE
AMARAVATI, MARCH 2
The Andhra Pradesh government has set up 1,820 paddy procurement centres across the state to see that farmers do not face any hassles and the state has so far procured 44 lakh metric tonnes of paddy during the kharif season, said Civil Supplies Department Commissioner Kona Sashidhar.
The farmers are receiving spot payment mostly and in some cases there were delay in disbursal, due to delay in clearance of dues by the Central government. The matter was taken up by the State to the Union Civil supplies minister in New Delhi, the Commissioner said.
The second and third quarter funds are due to the state government, the Commissioner said. That is the reason behind the delay in the clearance of payments over the past two weeks.
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has held a high-level review meeting in this regard and directed the Department to take advances from banks and NABARD to clear the dues of the farmers.
The farmers’ dues will be cleared by Wednesday, he said, it was not fair on a section of the media to blow up the issue. He asked the farmers to call toll-free number 1902 in case of any problems arising in paddy procurement.
Paddy procurement for rabi season would begin on April 1, including in East and West Godavari districts, the Commissioner adds.
