1 week Ago
Punjab food and civil supplies minister Lal Chand Kataruchak on Monday said that the state’s grain markets are witnessing a robust arrival of wheat, with an average of 10 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of the crop arriving daily across Punjab. During his visit to the grain market in Phillaur, the minister inspected ongoing procurement operations and interacted with farmers present at the site. He informed that wheat procurement was approaching its peak, with over 37 lakh MT of wheat having already arrived at 1,864 designated purchase centres across the state.
Of this, procurement agencies have purchased 33.50 lakh MTs at Minimum Support Price (MSP), amounting to ₹ 2,425 per quintal. Highlighting the government’s focus on timely payments, Kataruchak revealed that farmers have already received ₹ 3,216 crore for their procured wheat, with a strong emphasis on disbursing payments within 24 hours of purchase.
Emphasizing the government’s inclusive approach, the minister said that the welfare of all stakeholders, including labourers, is being taken care of. He said that a revision in labour rates was already done, increasing it from ₹ 2.21 to ₹ 2.
64 per bag, in recognition of the estimated 25 crore bags to be handled this season. This revision is expected to generate around ₹ 10 crore in wages for mandi labourers..
