By IANS,
Chandigarh : Punjab and Haryana have procured over 70 lakh tonnes of paddy this season, food and supplies officials of both states said here Monday.
While Punjab has procured over 46.52 lakh tonnes paddy, Haryana has procured over 24.45 lakh tonnes. Bulk of the paddy (nearly 99 percent) has been procured by government agencies while the rest has been procured by private millers in both states.
Procurement of paddy in both states started Oct 1 but the bulk of the stocks started arriving only after Oct 10.
In Punjab, the state government has set up 1,770 procurement centres. Ferozepur, Tarn Taran and Jalandhar districts were leading in procurement.
In Haryana, the procurement of over 24.45 lakh tonnes so far is higher than the 22.26 lakh tonnes procured in the same period last year, a spokesman of Haryana food and supplies department said Monday.
Kurukshetra, Karnal and Kaithal districts were leading in paddy procurement in Haryana.
The minimum support price (MSP) fixed by the government this time is Rs.1,250 and Rs.1,280 per quintal for common and grade-A varieties of paddy.