In record, Punjab makes payments of Rs 13K cr for wheat procurement
Darpan News Desk IANS, 25 Apr, 2022 10:11 AM
Chandigarh, April 25 (IANS) In a record, the Punjab Government said it cleared payments of Rs 13,000 crore of farmers for procurement of wheat till Monday, state Food and Civil Supplies Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak said.
He said this was the highest payment in the past decade.
The minister said the total minimum support price (MSP) payments released this year were three times of what was paid last year (Rs 4,754.42 crore) by this date.
"The record breaking figures are a result of the meticulous arrangements made by the state government in the mandis on the strict directions of the Chief Minister," said the minister, adding the government is committed to farmers' welfare.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress are projected to poll 40 per cent and 36 per cent votes in Punjab, respectively, as per the ABP-CVOTER Battle for the States survey. The 117-member Punjab Assembly will go to the polls on February 14, and the counting of votes will be taken up on March 10.
The highest quantity has been procured from Punjab (1,86,85,53 MT) followed by Chhattisgarh (67,65,986 MT) and Telangana (65,54,739 MT) while the highest number of farmers benefitted in are Chhattisgarh (16,90,459), Telangana (9,67,134) and Punjab (9,24,299).
Hockey is one of the most popular sports in Punjab and many players from the state have been integral parts of the national team. The 117-member Punjab Assembly will go to the polls on February 14, while the counting of votes will be taken up on March 10.
The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Registrar General of Punjab and Haryana High Court to secure and preserve all records in connection with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab, and also asked the state and Central committees to refrain from conducting inquiries till Monday, when it will take up the matter again.
India on Friday revised the existing guidelines for all international arrivals in India in view of the rising Covid cases and the Omicron threat, to make seven days home quarantine mandatory. The new guidelines will be effective from January 11 till further notice.
On Wednesday, the Prime Minister's rally in Ferozepur had to be cancelled due to a security lapse after some protesters blocked a route and forced his convoy to spend about 20 minutes on a flyover. The Prime Minister was enroute the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala when the incident happened.
