Chandigarh, May 14 : Punjab and Haryana have procured nearly 213 lakh tonnes of wheat this season, Food and Supplies Department officials said here on Monday.
In Punjab, nearly 125.5 lakh tonnes of wheat has been procured so far.
Over 99 per cent of this was procured by government agencies.
The Punjab government has disbursed over Rs 18,274 crore to farmers and 'arhtiyas' (commission agents) for the wheat procured this rabi season.
Officials in Punjab said that over 118.86 lakh tonnes of the procured wheat had already been lifted from grain markets for storage.
In Haryana, over 87.07 lakh tonnes had been procured so far this season, which is higher than the total procurement of 74.25 lakh tonnes of wheat last year.
The Reserve Bank of India had sanctioned nearly Rs 4,900 crore to the Haryana government for wheat procurement this season.
Procurement of wheat in both states started on April 1.
--IANS
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Source: IANS
