Raipur. CG Dhan Kharidi:  The process of purchasing paddy at the support price is gaining momentum in the state. On November 19, the fifth day of paddy procurement, 7 lakh 11 thousand 335 quintals of paddy were purchased from farmers. This figure of paddy procurement is almost equal to the amount of paddy purchased in the last four days. From November 15 to November 19, a total of 14 lakh 54 thousand 451 quintals of paddy has been purchased at the support price in the state.

As per the instructions of Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai, along with the purchase of paddy, the payment of support price to the farmers has also been started. For this, Markfed has released Rs 214.18 crore to Apex Bank. It should be mentioned here that the Chhattisgarh government has already given a bank guarantee of Rs 26,200 crore to Markfed for the payment of the price of paddy purchased from the farmers of the state. Adequate arrangements have been made in all the centers to ensure that the farmers do not face any problem in selling the paddy. Officers have been deployed in all the centers to monitor the arrangements for paddy procurement. Senior administrative officers of the state level and district level officers are continuously visiting and taking stock of the paddy procurement and the arrangements at the centers.

Strict monitoring is being done to ensure that there are no irregularities in the procurement of paddy at the support price in the state. Officers have been deployed at checkpoints to prevent the influx of paddy from outside. Surprise checks of transporters are also being conducted at various locations. It is noteworthy that under the intensive campaign being conducted in the state to prevent irregularities in paddy procurement, a total of 373 cases of illegal storage and transportation of paddy have been registered so far, and 25,567 quintals of paddy have been seized.