Bhubaneswar, Apr 26 (PTI) The Odisha government has set a target to procure 14 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of paddy during the current Rabi season and decided to commence the exercise from May 1 in 20 of the 30 districts of the state, officials said on Saturday.

The decision was taken at the State-level Procurement Committee meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja on Friday.

The meeting was also attended by the collectors of 20 districts through video conferencing, while Food Supply and Consumer Welfare Department Principal Secretary Sanjay Kumar Singh outlined issues for discussion.

Singh said that about 73.45 lakh metric tonnes of paddy was procured from nearly 16.60 lakh farmers in the last Kharif season.

For this procurement, Rs 16,853 crore was paid to farmers as minimum support price (MSP) and Rs 5,862 crore as input assistance, he said.

Similarly, the procurement of paddy for the current Rabi season will begin on May 1 and continue till June 30, he said.

It has also been decided in the meeting to target procurement of 14 lakh metric tonnes of paddy in the current season, the official said.

For Rabi paddy procurement, about 3.37 lakh farmers have registered. “This year, procurement will be made in 20 districts, including newly added Kandhamal, Sundargarh and Bhadrak. A total of 965 primary agricultural cooperative societies and 200 SHGs have also joined this exercise,” the official said.

The chief secretary directed the collectors concerned to ensure that eligible farmers are not deprived of paddy procurement.

He also praised the effort for the distribution of tokens among farmers by validating paddy crop growing areas through satellite imagery technology by the Odisha Space Application Centre.

He also directed the authorities to immediately deploy nodal officers and supervisors for ‘mandis”, where all facilities will be available for farmers.

Like the Kharif season, Rs 2,300 per quintal as MSP and Rs 800 as input assistance will be directly disbursed to the farmer’s account within 48 hours of paddy procurement, Ahuja said.

In addition, complaints can be made through toll-free no 1967, regarding paddy purchase.

Each mandi will be equipped with CCTV, and each vehicle carrying paddy from a mandi to a mill must have a Vehicle Tracking System.

The district collectors have been instructed to make special arrangements, in view of the unseasonal rains and heat waves, to protect paddy, he said.

Similarly, special squads will be deployed at bordering districts to keep an eye on outside vehicles carrying paddy during procurement. PTI AAM BDC