Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi Thursday directed officials to ensure that the middlemen do not take benefit of the ongoing paddy procurement process in the state.
Majhi was reviewing the progress of the paddy procurement that started November 20.
“The Chief Minister has directed officials to keep a close watch on the middlemen so that they do not take advantage for farmers under any circumstances,” a statement issued by his office said.
At present, the paddy procurement process is underway in nine districts — Bargarh, Nuapada, Sambalpur, Kalahandi, Bolangir, Jharsuguda, Nabarangpur, Subarnapur and Koraput.
So far, 37,079 farmers sold 1,81,196 ton of paddy and were paid Rs 323.73 crore as minimum support price and Rs 112.61 crore as input assistance.
Majhi said paddy procurement at Rs 2,300 per quintal along with input assistance of Rs 800 per quintal, besides PM-Kisan and CM-Kisan schemes, were ensuring the empowerment of farmers.
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He said more than 17 lakh farmers would benefit from the initiatives.
“Therefore, the paddy procurement programme should be implemented efficiently and without errors. The farmers should not face any problem under any circumstances,” he said.
The CM also directed officials to immediately resolve the grievances of farmers.
The meeting also discussed the token system, tagging system and cooperation of millers, among others, the statement said.
PTI