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The Chief Minister said that there is a continuous shortage of storage space during the current season and so far only seven lakh metric tonnes of capacity is available, due to which there is widespread resentment among the mill owners of the state. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that this is adversely affecting the purchase/payment of paddy in the mandis, due to which there is resentment among the farmers. The Chief Minister appealed to Union Minister Pralhad Joshi to ensure that at least 20 percent of the food grains are distributed from the state by March 31, 2025, to keep the procurement process smooth. Therefore, payment of rice for OMSS/Ethanol under exclusivity/exit/welfare schemes and other categories should be increased.
Responding to the issues raised by the Chief Minister, Mr Joshi agreed to release 120 lakh metric tonnes of paddy from the state by March 2025.
Raising the issue of payment of transportation cost to millers for delivery of rice, he said that sometimes due to non-availability of storage space at the linked milling centres, FCI Mill owners are asked to deliver rice to their depots, which in most cases are within a radius of 50 to 100 km. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that in many cases such depots are also located outside the state, causing additional financial burden on mill owners in the form of transportation costs. He said such costs are not included in the bilateral agreements between rice millers and state procurement agencies.
The Chief Minister said that keeping this in mind, the demand to meet the additional transportation cost of transporting rice to the FCI depot is justified. He appealed to the Union Minister to consider the demands of the mill owners sympathetically and encourage them. He said the transportation cost should be paid according to the actual distance required to deliver the rice and backward charges and other expenses should not be deducted. Responding to this issue, the Union Minister assured Bhagwant Singh Mann that the Central Government will bear the transportation expenses incurred by the mill owners in this regard.
Bhagwant Singh Mann, raising the issue of paddy drought, said that for decades, one per cent dry matter was allowed for MSP procurement, which was allowed by DFPD in the 2023-24 monsoon procurement season without any discussion or scientific survey. Was approved. It was unilaterally reduced to 0.5 percent. The Chief Minister said this has caused unnecessary financial loss to rice mill owners, who were already under financial pressure due to lack of storage space, and has increased resentment among them. He further said that the last milling season was extended from March 31 due to shortage of space as a result of hot weather, from April to July 24, leading to higher losses due to drying/weight loss/spoilage of paddy. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that there will be a drought MSP before the monsoon season 2023-24. Up to one per cent may be restored and where the CMR/FR delivered to FCI was less than 14 per cent moisture content, millers may be given more substantial compensation for deliveries after March 31.
On the issue of drought, the Central Government said that in this regard the Central Government has consulted I.I.T. A survey was already conducted through Kharagpur. He said that Punjab's perspective will also be included in this survey.
Raising the issue of out-turn ratio of hybrid varieties of paddy, the Chief Minister said that the out-turn ratio for Grade-A paddy has been fixed at 67 percent by the Government of India. He said that keeping in mind the high water consumption of traditional varieties of Grade-A paddy, the state government has encouraged the cultivation of some hybrid varieties in the state. Bhagwant Singh Mann told the Union Minister that these varieties, which are ready in less time, consume less water and give higher yields, which naturally increases the income of farmers.
The Chief Minister said that mill owners have informed that the production ratio of these varieties is less than 67 percent, which needs to be re-evaluated. He urged the Union Minister to deploy central teams to study the production ratio of these paddy varieties. Meanwhile, the Union Minister appreciated the Punjab government for its leak-proof initiative of introducing low water-consuming varieties of paddy. He assured full support and cooperation of the state government to encourage more such species.
Raising another issue, Chief Minister Punjab A.P.M.C. Strongly appealed to give commission allowance to the Aartis as per the Act. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that there has been no increase in the commission given to Aarti since the last five years/2019-20, while her expenses have increased manifold during these years. He said that the minimum support price of crops is increased every year by the Government of India, while since 2019-20, farmers are being given commission at the rate of Rs 45.38 to 46 per quintal. However, under the rules and bye-laws of the Punjab State Agricultural Produce Market Committee Act, there is a provision to pay 2.5% commission to commission agents on the minimum support price, which is Rs 58 per quintal in the current monsoon season.
The Chief Minister said that despite challenges in procurement such as the COVID-19 pandemic, labor shortage, weather disturbances during the season and mechanized harvesting to ensure faster arrivals in the markets, procurement of food grains under the Central Pool during the last fiscal Is of. Four years. Smooth procurement was ensured. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the state has made a significant contribution to the food security of the country by contributing 45-50 percent wheat to the central pool every year for the last three years. He said that this has helped in maintaining the buffer stock of wheat, controlling the prices of wheat and flour in the open market and curbing inflation.
The Chief Minister said that due to no increase in the commission of commission agents for the last several years, there is a lot of opposition among the commission agents at the ground level. Bhagwant Singh Mann urged the Union Minister to ensure that the commission of aartis is allowed to be at least 2.5 per cent of the support price. The Union Minister assured Bhagwant Singh Mann that this demand of the state government and the Aartis will be considered sympathetically in the next meeting.