Bhopal, May 18 (IANS) The Madhya Pradesh government has procured more than 87.71 lakh metric tonnes of wheat from over 12.10 lakh farmers during the ongoing rabi procurement season, the state’s Consumer Protection Minister Govind Singh Rajput said on Monday.

The Minister said wheat procurement across the state will continue till May 23, and the department is closely monitoring the process to ensure farmers do not face inconvenience at procurement centres.

“Wheat procurement will continue until May 23, 2026. The department is monitoring the process on an hourly basis to ensure smooth operations,” Rajput said.

According to the Food Department, a total of 87,71,485 metric tonnes of wheat has been procured so far from 12,10,785 registered farmers.

The government has also transported 75,95,792 metric tonnes of the procured wheat from procurement centres.

The Minister said the state government has taken several steps to speed up procurement and reduce waiting time for farmers.

The time for generating weighing slips has been extended from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., while the deadline for issuing bills has been extended till midnight.

Procurement is carried out 6 days a week, Monday to Saturday.

The number of weighing scales at each procurement centre has also been increased from four to six.

District administrations have been authorised to further increase the number of weighing scales if required.

“Steps like increasing the number of weighing scales and extending timings were taken to avoid delays for farmers at procurement centres,” Rajput said.

The state government is procuring wheat at Rs 2,625 per quintal, which includes the minimum support price of Rs 2,585 per quintal and a state bonus of Rs 40 per quintal.

The Minister said payments worth Rs 10,19,138 crore have been made to farmers so far under the procurement drive.

Among divisions, Bhopal recorded the highest procurement at 24,62,136 metric tonnes, followed by Ujjain at 20,23,374 metric tonnes and Jabalpur at 9,91,141 metric tonnes.

Other major wheat-producing divisions also reported significant procurement during the ongoing season.

–IANS

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