Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik asked the district Collectors to ensure that maximum quantum of paddy is procured and all farmers get minimum support price (MSP) during the current year.
Holding a videoconference with the Collectors at the State Secretariat, he also stressed on online payment of dues to the farmers within seven days of paddy procurement. A release issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said the CM asked the Collectors to open adequate numbers of paddy procurement centres in their respective districts. The Collectors were also advised to appoint nodal, monitoring and enforcement officers to look into the paddy procurement process. This apart, they were asked to convene district-level procurement committee meeting regularly and provide all required facilities for the farmers at the Regulated Marketing Societies, the release said. Among others, Foods and Supplies Minister Pratap Keshari Deb, Chief Secretary JK Mohapatra, departmental Secretary Madhusudan Padhi and Cooperative Secretary Bishnupada Sethi were present.