IEP Chandigarh, April 28
Wheat arrivals crossed 105 Lakh Metric Tons across the Mandis in the State today and surpassed the last year arrivals of 102.7 Lakh MT wheat that arrived in mandies during the entire Rabi season last year. Further, more than 100 LMT has already been purchased by the Government Agencies thus beating the total purchase of 96.45 Lakh Metric tons by the Govt Procurement Agencies during the entire Rabi season last year.
Sharing these details the Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Minister, Lal Chand Kataruchak said that 4.5 Lakh MT wheat has arrived today in the mandies and with this trend, total procurement of wheat will be atleast 20 lakh MT more than the previous season.
The Minister further said that the hard working farmers of the State have once again proved that Punjab is on the top in ensuring the Food Security of the nation, as the State is set to contribute more than 50% wheat in Central pool this year.
Expressing satisfaction at MSP Payments to the farmers, the Minister said that breaking all previous year records, 18366 Crores has been released for payment to 5,72,822 farmers as MSP, till today and it is being ensured that payments are released to farmers within 48 hours of purchase
The Minister further added that acting on the directions of the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for ensuring complete transparency in the procurement of wheat, the Vehicle Tracking System (VTS) has been implemented in the State during the ongoing wheat procurement season. The number of vehicles with GPS fitted on them has increased to more than 30000 as on date and more than 202250 online gate passes have been issued through the VTS, till now.
