PROCUREMENT OF FOODGRAINS

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RAJYA SABHA

Procurement of wheat by public procuring agencies was brought to a close in all the wheat procuring States from May 31, 2002, except in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The procurement period was extended on the requests of the State Governments of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar upto June 15, June 30 and July 15 2002 respectively.

The Government of West Bengal has been procuring rice through the levy route under Decentralised Procurement Scheme. However, in order to safeguard the interest of farmers and to ensure that farmers get Minimum Support Price for their produce, Government of West Bengal has recently decided to procure paddy and rice by also involving the cooperative sector.

This information was given in Rajya Sabha today by Shri U.V. Krishnam Raju, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs Food and Public Distribution, in reply to a question of Shri Motilal Vora.