The Punjab Cabinet led by chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday gave a nod to the Punjab Custom Milling Policy for Kharif 2022-23 for converting the procured paddy into custom milled rice and delivery of the same to Food Corporation of India (FCI) through rice mills of state.
The new policy which would be armed with technological steps aims at effectively checking the smuggling of paddy from outside the state as well as the pilferage of food grains from the procured stocks.
It is a well-known fact that a huge quantity of rice reaches Punjab (and Haryana) at a cheaper price from states like UP where the mandi system handling the minimum support price (MSP) on paddy is not as robust as that of Punjab and Haryana.
An official spokesperson said that this policy has been prepared for getting the paddy procured by state agencies converted into custom milled rice and delivered into the Central pool.
As per the policy, the rice mills would be linked to the procurement centres in time as per the purchase centre allotment list issued by the department and the paddy would be stored at the eligible rice mills as per their entitlement and agreement executed between the state agencies and the rice millers.
Special remission for life convicts:
The Cabinet also gave approval for sending the case of special remission to convicts or life convicts confined in jails of Punjab to commemorate the 400th Parkash Purab of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji. Similarly, the Cabinet also gave a green signal for sending the case for seeking special remission and release of the convicts confined in the jails of state on August 15, 2022, to commemorate the 75th Independence Day.
Ghai set to be AG:
Meanwhile, CM Mann, who interacted with the media after the Cabinet meeting, on the issue of the alleged dispute over the new advocate general (AG) after the resignation of AG Anmol Rattan Sidhu, said that these rumours were being spread by the political rivals of AAP.
Mann said that the new AG, Vinod Ghai, is a well-reputed lawyer and will work in the best interests of Punjab.
