Chandigarh: Ahead of the paddy procurement season, scheduled to officially begin on Oct 1, the Punjab govt has received a Cash Credit Limit (CCL) of Rs 42,786.68 crore for October to ensure uninterrupted payments to farmers.The state is anticipating a bumper harvest this season and has set a procurement target of 180 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) at the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 2,461 per quintal for Grade-A paddy. A total of 1,887 mandis have been notified across the state to handle the arrivals, with additional procurement centres to be operationalised depending on ground requirements.The food, civil supplies and consumer affairs department has also received 5 lakh gunny bags for packaging the procured grain. District officials have been instructed to ensure essential facilities, including clean drinking water and medical supplies, at procurement yards while closely monitoring operations to prevent unauthorised entry of paddy from outside the state.Food, civil supplies and consumer affairs minister Lal Chand Kataruchak said he would visit mandis to oversee procurement operations and safeguard the interests of all stakeholders.For the 2026 kharif season, the Punjab govt has reported a 36% increase in the area under the direct seeding of rice (DSR) technique, with coverage crossing 4 lakh acres compared with 2.94 lakh acres the previous year.
