Raipur, Oct 27 The Chhattisgarh government will begin paddy procurement from farmers from November 15 for the 2026-27 kharif marketing season at the rate of Rs 3,100 per quintal, with a maximum limit of 21 quintals per acre, officials said said on Tuesday.
The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai at his official residence in Civil Lines here, a government official said.
More than 27.50 lakh farmers are expected to benefit from the procurement exercise, he said.
In a crucial decision taken in the interest of farmers, all those cultivators who registered themselves last year and possess an AgriStack ID have been deemed eligible to sell their paddy. These farmers will not be required to register separately this year, the official insisted.
Farmers registered on the AgriStack platform will also not be required to separately bring their land record passbooks to cooperative societies for paddy procurement, he said.
The area under paddy cultivation has been determined digitally through the Digital Crop Survey, while biometric-based procurement will be undertaken to ensure that paddy is purchased from genuine farmers, the official maintained.
To facilitate smooth procurement, 360 new centres are being opened, taking the number of such outlets across the state to 3,100 this year.
The cabinet directed officials to ensure adequate arrangements at the centres, he said.
The cabinet also ratified the decision of a ministerial sub-committee regarding the disposal of surplus paddy from the 2024-25 and 2025-26 kharif marketing seasons through auction, he said.
In another decision, it approved the allocation of 31.55 acres of land at Somni village in Rajnandgaon district for setting up a multi-fruit processing facility through the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), he said.
The proposed project involves an investment of around Rs 400 crore and will develop a system for direct procurement of produce from farmers, he said.
The facility is expected to generate more than 1,000 direct and 5,000 indirect employment opportunities. It will provide fruit growers with better processing and marketing facilities and access to markets, he added.
The cabinet further decided to continue the existing concession on consumption up to 200 units of electricity for domestic consumers under the Mukhyamantri Urja Rahat Jan Abhiyan (M-Urja) scheme.
It extended the eligibility period to avail the scheme’s benefit, applicable to households with monthly electricity consumption of up to 400 units, from September 30, 2026, to March 31, 2027. The move will ensure continued electricity bill concessions for around 7.25 lakh domestic consumers, the official added.
(PTI News)
