The Jharkhand cabinet, headed by chief minister Hemant Soren, approved a proposal of the state food and civil supplies department on Thursday to take a loan of Rs 1,552 crore from two public sector banks to facilitate advance payments to farmers selling khariff (paddy) at government procurement centres.

The two banks from which the food and civil supplies department will take loans are State Bank of India and Bank of India, said cabinet coordination department secretary Vandana Dadel.

Dadel said the state government has set a target of procuring 8 lakh metric tonnes of paddy this year, 2 lakh MT more than the previous season. For normal paddy, the state state has fixed MSP of Rs 2,050 per quintal while for A-grade variant it will be Rs 2,070 per quintal.

The state food and civil supplies department minister, Rameshwar Oraon, had last week announced that the government would start paddy procurement from December 15. As per the changed rules since last year, the state government will provide 50 per cent payment on the spot to those selling their crop at government-run procurement centres and the rest will be given in three months after the due verification process.

The state cabinet cleared as many as 21 proposals at Thursday's meeting.

In another significant decision, the cabinet okayed the extension of lease, for 20 years, of the Hindustan Copper-owned mines in the Surda area of East Singbhum district. The mines spaning 388.68 hectares was awaiting clearance for over last two years. Jamshedpur MP Bidyut Baran Mahato and other local lawmakers had on numerous occasions corresponded with the Union and state governments to revive it, citing loss of revenue and local employment.

The cabinet also okayed road proposals worth Rs 418 crore in several districts, namely, Deoghar, Dhanbad, Bokaro, and Seraikela-Kharsawan, approved long-pending grants for 183 Urdu schools, agreed to the implementation of a new fiscal system (National Automatic Clearing House) for transfer of funds from treasuries to bonafide accounts, and allocated Rs 4 crore each to 14 affiliated colleges under Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA).