Lucknow:
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday directed the officials concerned to take strict action against those compromising on the interest of farmers in paddy purchase and said there was a need to give further momentum to the procurement process. In a meeting to review the paddy purchase, the chief minister said the government is directly purchasing the produce from farmers as their interest was the top priority and so no laxity in the procurement would be tolerated, an official release said.
He directed the officials to take stern action by fixing responsibility on those ignoring the interest of farmers. Adityanath said as compared to the corresponding period last year, about one-and-a-half times more paddy has been procured till now, but keeping in mind the wider interests of farmers there is a need to give further momentum to it.
As many as 4,200 purchase centres have been set up and if required more centres should be opened, the chief minister said adding that the entire process should be done in a transparent manner. He directed the officials that payment should be made to farmers for the goods in 72 hours and it should be ensured that the purchase centres are run according to the schedule.
He also asked for proper monitoring of the paddy procurement process and directed the Agriculture Production Commissioner to review it on a daily basis, the release added..
