Telangana govt set to open 7100 grain purchase centers

Telangana: The state government is set to open grain purchase centers tomorrow. This follows the instructions from Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.

State Ministers T Harish Rao, Gangula Kamalakar, and S Niranjan Reddy reviewed the grain purchase and collection of Custom Milled Rice (CMR) in a high-level meeting with district-level officials, including collectors, civil supplies officers, and Food Corporation of India (FCI) officials.

Finance Minister T Harish Rao instructed the collectors at the district level to start procuring grains from Tuesday. The ministers also asked the collectors to set up procurement centers and purchase the paddy grown by farmers in the state.

“The procurement centres are to be established to cater to the grain procurement needs. Nearly 7,100 centers will be established,” Rao said. The decision was made in response to farmers' demand for full procurement of rice, which has been on the rise in recent years.

"The procurement of grains is of utmost importance, and we must ensure timely acquisition of CMR from the millers," emphasized S Niranjan Reddy, the state's Agriculture Minister.

The Minister further highlighted the steady increase in grain yield and procurement in the state. "If the grain collection was Rs.3392 crore in 2014-15, it will reach Rs.26600 crore by 2020-21," he said.

Reddy also expressed concern regarding the capacity of mills, stating that in the past nine years, the purchase of grain has increased by six rates, while milling capacity has only increased by two rates.