New Delhi, Jan 29 (IANS): Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has written a letter to Union Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Piyush Goyal, urging him to increase the permitted amount of 24 lakh metric tonnes of rice to be procured under the central pool to 40 lakh metric tonnes in the Kharif marketing year 2020-21.

The Chief Minister said that, "in the Kharif marketing season in Chhattisgarh, the paddy was procured at the minimum support price from the farmers as per the MoU with the Government, under the decentralized procurement scheme for the procurement of paddy".

In the state in the Kharif marketing year 2020-21, as on 28 January 2021, under the decentralized procurement scheme, 90 lakh metric tonnes of paddy has been procured from 20.29 lakh farmers at the support price and paddy purchase will be done by January 31, 2021.

Registration of farmers for procurement of paddy at the support price for Kharif marketing year 2020-21 in Chhattisgarh was done after physical verification of paddy field sown through the Revenue Department and paddy was procured from registered farmers.

Baghel in his letter said: "Paddy farming is the main source of livelihood for the people of Chhattisgarh. In the Naxal affected areas in the state, registration of farmers holding forest rights has been done and the work of purchasing paddy has been done."

Procurement of their produce from the farmers residing in forest areas will be helpful in eradicating the Naxal problem, he said.

The state government said the Food Department has been allowed by the Government to take only 24 lakh metric tonnes of rice (16 lakh metric tons of unna and 8 lakh metric tons of arva) under the central pool in the Food Corporation of India in the Kharif year 2020-21.

The state's PDS will require 20 lakh metric tons of rice and in addition to this, the stock of 3 lakh metric tons of rice will be kept by the Civil Supplies Corporation.