New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS): With 707.24 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of paddy procured from 96.41 lakh farmers up to Sunday, the paddy procurement is progressing smoothly in this Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2021-22 at minimum support price from farmers, as was done in previous years, an official statement said on Monday.

The paddy has been procured from states/UTs of Chandigarh, Gujarat, Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Telangana, Rajasthan, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, West Bengal, Tripura, Bihar, Odisha, Maharashtra, Puducherry, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh, a Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Ministry statement said.

Till now, about 96.41 lakh farmers have been benefitted with an MSP value of Rs 1,38,619.58 crore, the release said.

Punjab, with 1,86,85,532 MT, leads the list of states from where maximum procurement has been done followed by Chhattisgarh (92,01,000) and Telangana (70,22,000 MT).