Hyderabad, Oct 7 (IANS): Authorities in Telangana will procure paddy directly from farmers in their villages as was done during the Covid-19 induced lockdown.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday said paddy would be purchased in full scale at the village level.

Since the coronavirus fear is still lingering, various government agencies would be sent to the villages to purchase the entire paddy production, he said.

For the second consecutive day, the Chief Minister held a review meeting on paddy procurement during this rainy season with ministers and officials concerned.

He suggested that as was done during the corona period, the government agencies would go the farmers and will purchase the paddy, and advised the farmers not to take their paddy to the markets and face problems.

KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly known, reiterated that paddy with less than 17 per cent moisture would be purchased by the state government at Rs 1,888 per quintal MSP for grade A variety and Rs 1,868 per quintal MSP for the B grade variety.

Stating that harvesting in villages is done for 15 days in a month, he instructed the Agriculture, Marketing and Civil Supplies Department officials to take precautions at every point. He wanted the officials to make an estimate as to how much paddy would be available and prepare a purchasing plan accordingly.

He also instructed officials to ensure that the farmers get their money on the sale of paddy immediately along with the bank guarantees.

The Chief Minister also said that since there is a lot of improvement in the water supply for irrigation, even arid lands are becoming fertile and are cultivated.

With the financial support extended by Rythu Bandhu Scheme, farmers who have migrated to urban areas are returning to the villages to cultivate their lands and it was a welcome trend, he added.

The Chief Minister said that since Telangana is fast becoming an agriculture-based state, the Civil Supplies Department should strengthen itself and it should make an action plan accordingly.

KCR had Tuesday announced that the state government would purchase the paddy and cotton cultivated during the current rainy season.

He directed the officials concerned to purchase the entire paddy in the state by setting up 6,000 purchasing centres and ensure that every grain of paddy is purchased and farmers do not face any problem.