Bhubaneswar: The procurement of paddy for rabi season in 20 districts will begin May 1 and conclude June 30, Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja said Friday. Briefing media following the state-level paddy procurement committee meeting at Lok Seva Bhawan here, Ahuja said the state government has made extensive preparations for purchase of paddy from farmers in the current rabi season. “Paddy procurement for the current rabi season will start May 1 and continue till June 30. The state government has set a target to procure14 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of paddy in the current season,” he said, adding that around 3,37,000 farmers have been registered for the purpose. This year, paddy will be procured in 20 districts, including Kandhamal, Sundargarh and Bhadrak, he said, adding a total of 965 primary agricultural cooperative societies and 200 SHGs have also joined the process.
Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare department Principal Secretary Sanjay Kumar Singh said around 73.45 LMT of paddy was procured from nearly 16,60,000 farmers in the last kharif season. “For this, Rs 16,853 crore was paid to the farmers as MSP and Rs 5,862 crore as input assistance,” he said. Ahuja directed Collectors of the districts to ensure that eligible farmers are not deprived of paddy procurement. He also appreciated the process of providing token to farmers by validating paddy crop growing areas through satellite imagery technology by ORSAC. The chief secretary also directed Collectors to deploy nodal officers and supervisors for mandis.
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Similarly, it was discussed in the meeting that all facilities will be available for farmers at mandis. Official sources said like kharif season, Rs 3,100 per quintal, including Rs 2,300 as MSP and Rs 800 as input assistance, will be directly disbursed to a farmer’s account within 48 hours of paddy procurement. Complaints can be made through 1967 regarding paddy purchase. “Each mandi will be equipped with CCTV, while vehicle carrying paddy from mandi to mill must have tracking system. District Collectors have been instructed to make special arrangements in view of the unseasonal rains and heatwave to protect paddy and ensuring lifting of paddy on the same day,” they said.
Similarly, special squads will be deployed at bordering districts to keep eye on outside vehicles carrying paddy during procurement, they added.
Among others, Mission Shakti Commissioner-com-Secretary Shalini Pandit, Transport Commissioner Amitabh Thakur, Agriculture and Food Production Director Shubham Saxena, senior officers from Food Corporation of India and Odisha State Supply Corporation and various departmental officers were present in the meeting. District Collectors and Civil Supply Officers attended the meeting through videoconferencing.
