Bhubaneswar: Odisha state Unit BJP will launch a statewide agitation in the first half of July demanding paddy procurement from all registered farmers.
Party President Samir Mohanty Tuesday said the protest demonstration will also be held against irregularities in the allotment of pucca houses to eligible beneficiaries under the PMAY.
Mohanty told newspersons that the BJP office bearers along with the farmers will sit on dharna July 1 and 2 next in front of all Mandis, block the roads and will hold demonstrations in front all Civil supply offices across the state in support of the demand.
The party, he said, also decided to organise a protest in front of all Block offices across the state July 7,8 and 9 next demanding allotment of pucca houses to all eligible beneficiaries under the PMAY.
Mohanty said paddy of thousands of farmers is lying in mandis and could not be procured due to faulty token system adopted by the state government.
He said the paddy could not be procured as the government has fixed the validity of the token for 12 days only. This has forced distress sell of paddy at Rs 900 to 1100 per quintal.
The millers, the BJP President alleged, were deducting 8 to 10 kg of paddy per quintal while procuring paddy from farmers.
The BJP leader said though the authorities of the State Civil Supply Corporation assured the BJP Krushak Morcha, who held a demonstration in front of its head office here on June 25 last they would procure all paddy from the farmers by June 30 next but no steps have been taken in this regard so far.
Mohanty said a central team of the Union Consumer Welfare Ministry has pointed out that the 151 day time period fixed by the central government for paddy procurement has been ignored by the state government pushing the farmers into misery.
The team had visited Bargarh, Bolangir, Sonepur, and Nayagarh from March 22 to 25 to make an on the spot assessment of the situation.
The BJP leader said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to provide pucca houses to all poor eligible beneficiaries under the PMAY by 2022 but the state government was allotting pucca houses in a partisan manner to BJD activists depriving the poor people.
He also alleged that there is no transparency in the allotment of pucca houses and houses were allotted to those who can give a bribe of Rs 10,000 to 25,000.
Mohanty said no action was taken against the BDO concerned even after a central team pointed out about the corruption in the allotment of pucca houses under the PMAY.
He also said no pucca houses have been allotted to any beneficiary in nine districts of the state and demanded the government to clarify why the poor beneficiaries of these districts were deprived of the pucca houses.
The BJP, Mohanty said, will protest in front of all block offices across the state July 7, 8 and 9 demanding allotment of pucca houses to all eligible beneficiaries.
UNI