VIJAYAWADA: Civil Supplies Minister Nadendla Manohar on Saturday announced that Andhra Pradesh has received the Centre’s approval for boiled rice procurement for the first time, enabling the State to purchase nearly two lakh metric tonnes during the ongoing Rabi season.
He said the decision would provide significant relief to farmers as the government aims for a record procurement of 70 lakh metric tonnes of paddy this year.
The minister made the remarks after inspecting procurement operations at Ramavarappadu and Gollapudi in NTR district. He reviewed moisture-testing procedures at RSK centres, interacted with farmers and examined arrangements for transportation and storage. Farmers informed the minister that payments for procured paddy were being credited to their bank accounts within 30 minutes to 17 hours. Manohar said the coalition government had already transferred ?4,410 crore to farmers, with 94 per cent of payments made within 24 hours.
During the visit, the minister identified issues such as high moisture content in paddy and damaged gunny bags. He directed officials to ensure adequate supply of lorries and gunny bags.
