Rabi procurement to begin in 2 wks
Hyderabad: Procurement of paddy for the Rabi 2025-26 season will commence in two weeks, according to Commissioner of Civil Supplies M Stephen Raveendra.
This was agreed upon at a meeting the Commissioner had with rice millers from across the state on Saturday at the Civil Supplies Bhavan here for ensuring a seamless, zero-hardship procurement process for Telangana's farmers.
The Commissioner has directed all District Collectors to immediately identify and secure additional godown space across the state.
The Commissioner prioritised grassroots logistics and farmers’ welfare. Officials and millers were instructed to ensure adequate hamalis (laborers) at all procurement centers to prevent any unloading delays.
Acknowledging the potential ground-level challenges farmers face during peak procurement, the rice millers formally agreed to work in close coordination with the government to mitigate bottlenecks and expedite the intake process.
To meet the immediate packaging demands of the season, the department scrutinised gunny bag allocations. Pointing out that 35 crore old gunny bags remain with the mills, the Commissioner asked millers to immediately return 10 crore bags to District Managers for facilitating the imminent rollout for Rabi.
Additionally, officials finalised Food Corporation of India (FCI) metrics for the Kharif 2025-26 season, approving the allocation of 3.5 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of Custom Milled Rice (CMR) from 5.22 LMT of paddy, inclusive of the 10% broken rice allowance.
In a strategic move to support the industry's operational readiness, the state government will be releasing pending milling charges across 10 districts. Concurrently, the Commissioner formally received representations from the millers regarding outstanding financial defaults and operational requests. He assured the delegation that these matters will be thoroughly reviewed and put up before the state government.
The Civil Supplies Department is closely monitoring all preparations to ensure a seamless and efficient procurement process for farmers across Telangana over the coming weeks.
