Telangana Minister for Irrigation and Civil Supplies N. Uttam Kumar Reddy has directed officials to speed up Minimum Support Price (MSP) procurement operations, with paddy buying yet to begin in 13 districts where transplantation was delayed.

At a high-level review meeting held at the Secretariat, the minister asked officials to shift into “mission mode” and ensure farmers do not face delays during the peak arrival season.

Procurement Underway, More Centres Coming

Officials informed the minister that paddy arrivals have started picking up in around 20 districts, while procurement in the remaining 13 districts is expected to begin soon.

Key preparedness figures reviewed in the meeting:

Capacity in place to procure 90 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of paddy
More than 5,000 procurement centres already operational
Another 3,500+ centres to be opened shortly
4.89 LMT of paddy already purchased
Storage, Gunny Bags and Logistics Ready

To avoid bottlenecks during peak arrivals, the government said:

Intermediary storage space identified for 12 LMT
District-wise allocation made for 20 LMT boiled rice paddy
Around 16 crore gunny bags positioned for daily needs
The minister instructed officials to ensure adequate availability of labour, gunny bags, quality testing teams and weighment staff at procurement centres.

Focus on Moisture, Transport and Payments

Uttam Kumar Reddy also ordered deployment of paddy cleaners and dryers at most centres to address moisture-related issues.

He asked officials to strengthen transport arrangements for timely lifting of procured paddy and tighten checks at interstate borders to prevent inflow of paddy from neighbouring states into Telangana centres.

The minister stressed that departments including Civil Supplies, Marketing and district administrations must work in coordination so that farmers receive payments without delay.

Stephen Ravindra and other senior officials attended the review meeting.