Chandigarh, May 16: The Punjab Government has lived up to its promise. It has procured every single grain produced by the farmers. The government has achieved its goal. The administration is led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann. It has procured 100 percent of the wheat crop arriving in the mandis of the State.

State Government procured the entire 130 Lakh Metric Tonnes

The Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak interacted with media persons here today at the Anaj Bhawan. He disclosed that the State Government has procured the entire 130 Lakh Metric Tonnes . The wheat has been arriving in the mandis until the procurement season closed on May 15th. Wheat weighing 03 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT) has been arriving in the mandis. This continued until the closure of the procurement season on May 15th. The Minister congratulated the coordinated efforts of the departmental officers and other staff. Divulging more, the Minister added that the State Government has procured 119.24 LMT of Wheat while the traders have procured 10.80 LMT. Furthermore, payments to the tune of Rs. 28,571 Crore have been credited into the accounts of over 7 Lakh farmers. As regards lifting, the Minister mentioned that 104.51 LMT has been lifted and the remaining would also be lifted within a few days. In order to ensure smooth and hassle free procurement, the Government had set up a total of 2885 mandis/purchase centres out of which 1864 were regular and 1021 were temporary centres. The Minister further elaborated that authorities have completed e-KYC for 1.24 crore beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). He exhorted the beneficiaries to download the ‘e-KYC App’. This app would enable them to complete the e-KYC process while sitting at homes. Thus, they need not visit the Fair Price Shops (FPS) to complete the formalities. The Principal Secretary Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Rahul Tewari was present on the occasion. Director Varinder Kumar Sharma attended as well. Additional Director Dr. Anjuman Bhaskar was also there.