Lens on border areas to check inter-state paddy movement

Bhubaneswar: The govt has decided to check paddy being brought from outside, especially during the current Kharif season, over fear that some unscrupulous persons may try to bring paddy from other states and sell it here to take advantage of the higher price that Odisha is offering for paddy.

Odisha has decided to pay an additional Rs 800 per quintal over and above the minimum support price of Rs 2,300 for paddy, taking the total amount to Rs 3,100 per quintal.

On Tuesday, chief minister Mohan Majhi conducted a comprehensive review of the paddy procurement arrangements and instructed district collectors to ensure that irregularities, corruption and favouritism in paddy procurement are not entertained.

“District collectors have been asked to deploy enforcement squads in all border areas and monitor them through CCTV cameras 24x7,” read a CMO statement.

It further stated that to ensure complete transparency in paddy procurement, a minister will oversee one or two districts as observers and act as point of contact for the govt. The statement added that the ministers will visit districts and various mandis to listen to the concerns of farmers.

To streamline the process, the chief minister has asked all the related departments and district collectors to work in coordination. Notably, 83.16% of the registered farmers are small-scale peasants, and the district collectors have been asked to ensure they get to sell their paddy without any hassles.

Regarding the token period, small farmers often lack information. Hence, the chief minister has advised the district collectors to extend their token period if necessary and raise awareness among them, the statement added.

The chief minister has further directed that complete transparency be maintained in the paddy testing process and instructed district collectors to hold mandi operating officers accountable for maintaining paddy quality.

As per decisions, each mandi will have an operating officer and a supervisor will oversee every four or five mandis. Additionally, all activities in the mandis will be monitored through a central dashboard. The Quality Council of India will assist in overseeing paddy procurement.

To determine paddy quality, automatic grain analysers will be installed in 200 large mandis, while manual grain analysers will be set up in smaller mandis. Quality analysts and quality supervisors will be appointed at each paddy procurement centre to inspect and certify paddy, the statement read.

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