Rayagada: Waiver of market fee on the cotton millers by the district administration has kicked up a row among the cotton farmers in Rayagada district, a report said.
The matter came to the fore after the residential office of the district Collector issued a letter to the regulated market committees (RMCs) in Rayagada and Gunupur directing them to waive of market fee on the cotton millers.
Meanwhile, members of the Rayagada regulated market committee have opposed the fee waiver on cotton millers and submitted a memorandum comprising six-point charters of demands to the district Collector in this regard. Notably, Rayagada RMC gets Rs 1 crore annually and Gunupur RMC around Rs 3 crore for the same period from cotton procurement.
It is warned that the district will incur loss of Rs 4 crore after the Collector’s order. The order is likely to help the millers make a windfall gain as market fee is not going to be collected from them. Reports said that the cotton which is also known as white gold is the second highest cultivated crop after paddy in Rayagada district.
However, farmers here fail to get the right price for their produce despite more cotton being grown in Rayagada district. As a result, farmers growing cotton face loss while the millers from outside the state earn huge profits.
It is alleged that the district administration is showing undue favour to the cotton millers from outside of the state despite the latter making huge profit from the procurement. According to the letter issued to the Rayagada and Gunupur RMCs, the cotton millers had submitted a memorandum to the district Collector January 5.
The millers had stated that currently the price of cotton has remained more than that of the minimum support price (MSP) as fixed by the state government while cotton production declined due to unafavourable climatic conditions this year. Taking cognizance of this letter, the residential office of the district Collector directed the RMCs to waive off the market fee on cotton from the millers during procurement.
They informed in the letter that the state government has fixed the MSP at Rs 6,380 per quintal of cotton while farmers sell cotton to the traders and middlemen at Rs 1000 more than the MSP which results in loss for the millers The RMCs have no role to play as traders and middlemen are directly purchasing the cotton from the farmers for which they pleaded to waive off the market fee in their memorandum.
On the other hand, farmers have alleged that the fee waiver is not going to benefit them. The claim that the farmers are selling cotton at a price more than the MSP has been proved false during an inquiry. The middlemen and agents are purchasing cotton from the farmers and selling it at a higher price.
A cotton farmer alleged that the middlemen and agents are actually reaping huge profit while the millers are trying to get benefit from the sale by hoodwinking the district administration with false claims and figures.
The farmers are not going to get any benefit if the market fee is waived off on the millers but rather the district administration will face revenue loss. A cotton miller during a discussion with this correspondent said that market fee has been also waived off in cotton producing areas like Kalahandi, Bolangir and Nuapada districts.
The Collector was apprised of the steps taken by these districts in waiving off the market fee following which he directed the RMCs to waive of the market fee in Rayagada district. However, the order is yet to be implemented.
RMC officials said that the cotton procurement is yet to start in Rayagada district. Local intelligentsia said that as per OAPM Act-1956, the traders and millers are liable to pay market fee.
However, they questioned the wisdom behind the waiver of market fee and incurring an annual revenue loss of Rs 4 crore.
After the order, the RMC officials have been left without any work. When contacted, food supplies and consumer minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak said that he will make a review of the circumstances that led to the waiver of market fee in Rayagada district.
PNN
