Chandigarh, Dec 3 (IANS): Agrarian states Punjab and Haryana have procured over 240.77 lakh tonne of paddy this kharif season, food and supplies officials said on Monday.

Punjab alone has procured over 170.17 lakh tonne of paddy till Sunday evening, a Punjab government spokesman said.

Out of this 168.93 lakh tonne has been procured by government agencies while 124,379 tonne has been procured by private millers.

Payment of over Rs 24,050 crore has already been released by the Punjab government to arhtiyas (commission agents) and farmers.

In neighbouring Haryana, over 70.60 lakh tonne of paddy has been procured this Kharif season. Out of this, government agencies have procured over 58.04 lakh tonne, private millers have procured over 12.55 lakh tonne.

Haryana is well known for basmati rice production, especially in Karnal district.

'Green Revolution' state Punjab contributes nearly 50 per cent of wheat and paddy to the national kitty. The Punjab government was targeting procurement of 200 lakh tonne of paddy this season. In 2017-18, a total of 179.34 lakh tonne of paddy was procured.

Paddy procurement started in the state on October 1, but the bulk of the stocks started coming after October 10.