Maha govt will give bank guarantee for tur procurement: Ajit

Mumbai, Feb 25 () The Maharashtra government willgive a bank guarantee of Rs 200 crore for the procurement oftur (red gram) dal from farmers this season, Deputy ChiefMinister Ajit Pawar said here on Tuesday.

Pawar held a meeting of officials of the agricultureand cooperation departments for review of tur production andprocurement.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, he said thegovernment will give a guarantee of Rs 200 crore for the statemarketing federation so that it could raise funds for turprocurement.

The proposal for this would be submitted to the statecabinet, he added.

There are 317 tur procurement centers in the state,Pawar, who also holds the finance portfolio, said.

He asked officials to ensure that farmers don't faceany problems in selling their produce at procurement centersand there are enough godowns for storage.

The entire tur production should be procured from thefarmers who have registered themselves with the government,Pawar said.

As many as 3.15 lakh farmers have registered for turprocurement which began from February 1.

The state government is aiming to procure 2.24 lakhtonnes of tur this season. MRKRK KRK