Jeypore: Bogus farmers are allegedly registered by middlemen in Koraput to avail the benefits of minimum support price (MSP).
Farmers in Jeypore area alleged that there had been irregularities in online registration of farmers for paddy procurement in the kharif season. Farmers of Kusumi panchayat have taken up the issue with Jeypore sub-collector.
Due to fraud in registration, middlemen are taking advantage of paddy procurement while genuine farmers are deprived of their rights, they alleged.
Officials of the LAMP and civil supplies officials are involved in the irregularities, they claimed.
Sanyasi Gadba, a resident of Bijarapalli, is landless, but his name was registered online for paddy procurement. Sayansi was unaware of his registration.
Similarly, Gangadhar Gadba and Balaram Gadba are also landless, but their names were registered online. Official records of the two show that Gangadhar and Balaram have 20 acres and 25 acres respectively, but the reality is different.
In another case, the name of Dambu Bhumia, a local farmer, was registered online while his land records were tagged to the name of Arjun Bhumia, another farmer of Mundipadar.
Farmers had produced copies of evidence about the irregularities to the district civil supplies officer and the Kotpad tehsildar.
They alleged that though a month had passed since they apprised the officials of the matter, not step had been taken.
The farmers submitted a memorandum to the administration. They demanded that fake registrations be cancelled and genuine farmers be registered.
The farmers demanded an investigation into the scam and action against those involved in it.
Notably, farmers of western Odisha are reportedly upset over the token system. The system has made it mandatory for farmers to obtain token numbers on their mobile phones first before they are allowed to sell their produce in the mandis. However, the system has proved counter-productive. Farmers have to wait for weeks before they are given tokens leading to their harassment. Many farmer organizations have discussed the issue and are said to be bracing up for agitation against the token system.
PNN
