For the First Time, Centre Okays Boiled Rice Procurement From Andhra Pradesh

 Vijayawada: Civil Supplies minister Nadendla Manohar on Saturday said the centre has, for the first time, permitted procurement of boiled rice in Andhra Pradesh, providing a major relief to thousands of farmers across the state.

Addressing media after inspecting Rabi paddy procurement operations at Ramavarappadu and Gollapudi in NTR district, the minister said the government plans to procure nearly two lakh metric tonnes of boiled rice during the current Rabi season.

This will be part of the state government’s ambitious target of procuring 70 lakh metric tonnes of paddy this season, owing to higher-than-expected crop yields compared to last year. “Civil Supplies department is moving ahead with a special plan to ensure that farmers do not face any hardship in selling their produce,” Manohar said.

During his visit to the Visala Cooperative Credit Society office at Ramavarappadu and the Rythu Seva Kendram at Gollapudi, he personally inspected moisture-testing procedures for paddy and interacted with farmers to understand the field-level issues.

Farmers informed the minister that payments for paddy procured from them are being credited to their bank accounts within 30 minutes to 17 hours after sale. Officials maintained that nearly 94 per cent of payments are being deposited within 24 hours. So far, ₹4,410 crore have been credited into the farmers’ accounts during the ongoing Rabi procurement drive.

Manohar identified several operational issues in procurement, including high moisture content in paddy and damaged gunny bags. He directed officials to ensure timely availability of lorries and gunny bags to avoid inconvenience to farmers. He instructed staff to use Bluetooth-enabled moisture-testing devices for greater transparency and accuracy.

The minister disclosed that a special monitoring team from the headquarters is constantly reviewing procurement operations across districts to ensure immediate resolution of complaints.

Highlighting the scale of procurement, he said NTR district had so far procured 80,000 metric tonnes of paddy this season, compared to 30,000 metric tonnes during the corresponding period last year — an increase of over 130 per cent. State-wide,

17.46 lakh metric tonnes of paddy has been procured. Efforts are underway to further accelerate the process.

Manohar said the government would take a decision by Monday on NTR farmers’ requests to allow millers from other districts to participate in the procurement operations.

Those accompanying the minister during the inspections include Civil Supplies Corporation managing director S. Dilli Rao and NTR district joint collector S. Ilakkiya.