CHANDIGARH: Amid Covid-19, Punjab is expected to procure a record 170 lakh Metric Tonne (MT) of paddy and the state is set to go online with rice delivery operations, including allotment, registration and physical verification of rice mills through videos, as part of the new milling policy for kharif 2020-21.
The government will launch a dedicated portal www.anaajkharid.in, as per a state cabinet decision. The cabinet approved the new policy, aimed at ensuring seamless milling of paddy and delivery of rice into the central pool from more than 4,150 mills operating in the state.
The state is expected to procure 170 lakh MT of paddy during kharif season beginning October 1, with total area under paddy sowing this year at 26.60 lakh hectares, down from 29.20 lakh hectares the previous season, in line with the state’s crop diversification efforts.
The target was to complete the custom milling of paddy, thereby delivering all due rice to Food Corporation of India by March 31, 2021.
The whole gamut of yearly procurement operations — from allotment of mills, their registration, application of release order, deposit of RO fee and levy, besides all important monitoring of stocks — will be done online on a continuous basis.
All the state procuring agencies — Pungrain, Markfed, Punsup, Punjab State Warehousing Corporation — Food Corporation of India and the rice millers as well as all other stakeholders will operate and interact on the website, with the Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Punjab, acting as the nodal department.
Under the policy, the sole criterion for the allotment of free paddy to mills this season would be the millers’ performance in the previous year.
An additional percentage-wise incentive would be provided to mills as per their date of delivery of rice against milling of custom milled paddy, including RO paddy in the previous year.
Mills which had completed their entire milling by January 31 would be eligible for an additional 15% of free paddy milled in 2019-20.
Those who had completed delivery of rice by February 28 would get an additional 10% of free paddy.
In another measure to guard against paddy diversion, the RO paddy was brought into the ambit of Custom Milling Security. Millers will be required to deposit `125 for each MT for paddy stored or part thereof, with the agency concerned.