Telangana minister asks for swift action on paddy procurement process

He asked the Civil Supplies commissioner and department officials to procure and shift the paddy to intermediary godowns wherever millers were not cooperating.

Hyderabad: Telangana Civil Supplies and Irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy directed officials to expedite paddy procurement across Telangana.

He was addressing the Cabinet Sub-Committee on paddy procurement on Friday evening, November 8.

Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, ministers Tummala Nageshwar Rao, Sridhar Babu, and Ponnam Prabhakar, Principal Secretary and Civil Supplies Commissioner DS Chauhan, senior officials, and representatives from the milling industry attended the meeting.

During the meeting, Uttam Kumar Reddy expressed satisfaction with the procurement arrangements in most of the districts and also mentioned that the arrangements need to be faster in some districts.

He asked the Civil Supplies commissioner and department officials to procure and shift the paddy to intermediary godowns wherever millers were not cooperating.

He said that 30 lakh metric tonnes of godown space has been arranged with the state warehousing corporation.

“Whatever, the additional cost involved for storage in intermediary godowns and then giving it custom milling will be borne by the government. But the main point is farmers should not be inconvenienced anywhere in the state,” he said.

He directed officials to address grievances and complaints with urgency.

He highlighted that Telangana is expected to achieve a record yield of nearly 150 lakh metric tonnes of paddy, making this year’s procurement process historic in terms of scale, operations, and volume.

Additionally, he announced that all farmers would receive a bonus of Rs 500 per quintal for fine paddy.

The minister urged millers to cooperate fully in the procurement process, emphasising the state government’s commitment to supporting the milling industry in Telangana.

To encourage this support, the government has set a low bank guarantee requirement of 10% for CMR paddy which is 100% BG in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

He also asked the Milling Association president to remind all the millers that both in terms of bank guarantees and penalties for defaulters, Telangana is much more liberal than the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh, a press release said.

He said milling charges have also been increased by Rs 40 for fine paddy and by Rs 30 for coarse paddy. Given the scale of this season’s procurement, he stressed the importance of millers’ active cooperation with the state government.

Minister Uttam instructed principal secretary and Civil Supplies commissioner DS Chauhan to ensure timely paddy procurement, with arrangements in place for proper storage in intermediary godowns as needed.

He emphasised that the upcoming 10-15 days are critical and that farmers should not face distress.

The government is prepared to incur additional expenses if required to ensure seamless procurement, it added.

He directed officials to promptly resolve any issues with millers to avoid delays in procurement, ensuring that farmers face no hardships and that their payments are processed without delay.

Uttam Kumar Reddy noted that, if necessary, the government might consider dispatching surplus paddy to neighbouring states, such as Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, if the procurement exceeds Telangana’s milling capacity.

However, he clarified that any decision on this measure would be taken later and would ensure no cost burden on Telangana.

The minister also instructed Civil Supplies department officials to remain actively in the field and provide daily feedback. In case of challenges, they should promptly inform higher authorities to ensure swift resolutions.