Bhubaneswar: Following approval from the Centre, the Odisha government has extended the Kharif season paddy procurement deadline to April 30.
The paddy procurement is underway at 29 districts in Odisha barring Kandhamal, where it will resume in a week’s time, informed sources.
According to the Joint Director of the Food Supply and Consumer Welfare department, Bijay Kumar Prusty, 17.45 lakh tonne of paddy worth Rs 2,562 crore has been procured from 29 districts till now. Out of Rs 2,562 crores, Rs 2,021crore has been transferred to the concerned farmers account, he added.
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“The deadline was till March. However, the Centre has given us permission to undertake the process till April 30 after agreeing to the proposal of the State government. Paddy procurement is on at 29 districts out of 30 in the State. Only Kandhamal district is left out where the process will kick start within a week. We have procured over 17.45 lakh metric tonne of paddy whose market value is around Rs 2,562 crore, out of which Rs 2,021crore has been transferred to farmers’ accounts,” said Prusty.