Top News

Punjab News: The Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann is giving top priority to the issue of ensuring adequate storage in the mandis across the state in view of the upcoming paddy procurement season. The Group of Cabinet appealed to the Central Government to speed up the pace of lifting of rice from Punjab, so that adequate space is available for storage keeping in mind the upcoming paddy season.

assurance of cooperation from the government

The Group of Cabinet comprising Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddiyan, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak and Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal today held a meeting with various rice millers of the state and assured them of full cooperation from the state government to make the procurement season a success.

fully committed to welfare

The Cabinet Group said that along with the rice industry, farmers, commission agents and laborers are the backbone of the state’s economic system and the state government is fully committed to their welfare.

Apart from this, several public welfare-focused initiatives are also in progress. These include the provision that no District Food and Supplies Controller (DFSF) can make any recovery from millers without the permission of the headquarters. Additionally, the upcoming Custom Milling Policy will also include provisions for making freight payments directly to sheller owners.

Committed to protecting the interests of millers

Regarding other demands, which include providing unloading and grading expenses to each miller, extending the date of registration of new shellers on the portal to September 30 and allotment of paddy for custom milling in the next season to sheller owners who mill 85 per cent in the current season, the Group of Cabinet assured that the State Government is fully committed to protecting the interests of rice millers. Apart from this, there will be no discrimination in allotting paddy for custom milling.

On this occasion, among others, Principal Secretary of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department Rahul Tiwari, Director Varinder Kumar Sharma, AMD Pangrain Kamal Kumar Garg, Additional Directors Dr. Anjuman Bhaskar and Ajayvir Singh Sarao, President of Federation of All India Rice Millers Association Tarsem Saini, President of Punjab Rice Industry Association Bharat Bhushan Binta, President of Rice Millers Association Gyan Chand Bhardwaj and President of New Punjab Rice Millers Association Balwinder Singh. Haruwal was present.