Procurement of paddy officially began in agrarian states Punjab and Haryana on Monday with food and supplies officials saying that a bumper crop is expected this Kharif season. Paddy arrival had started and was expected to pick up in the coming week. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has promised strict adherence by his government to the 48-hour deadline for lifting of paddy and payment to farmers for their crop this time. Pointing out that his government had got the issue of Cash Credit Limit (CCL) sorted out with the central government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), he said everything was in place for smooth procurement of paddy in this season, when an estimated 182 lakh tonnes of the crop was expected to come into the market in Punjab. The state had procured 165 lakh tonnes paddy last year.