Agriculture, Fishery and Animal Resources Development Minister Pradeep Maharathy on Friday warned the officials of Agriculture Department, particularly those working in field levels, to discharge their duties properly, failing which the department would dispense the errant officials under the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS).
The Minister while speaking on the inaugural day of the two-day State-level pre-seasonal orientation training of Agriculture Extension Officers for Khariff-2014 said, “The main target will be to make the Odisha self-sufficient in seeds (paddy, groundnut etc) by 2015 and to bring the Odisha State Seed Corporation ltd (OSSC) under the control of Agriculture Department for its better functioning.”
“We have all possible supports with us to develop seeds of our own. But it is not happening due to some ‘brokers’ and Government officials. The department will not tolerate this anymore. Stringent action will be initiated against those found guilty in discharging their duties,” said the Minister.He said all the District Agriculture Officers (DEOs) would be asked to give details regarding utilization of funds provided to them under the Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA).
“Huge amounts have been given to all 314 blocks under the ATMA. But in many cases it is lying unused while in some cases the same has reportedly been misused. The DAOs will be asked to give the details of the expenditure to the Agriculture Director at the earliest, failing which legal action is inevitable,” warned Maharathy.
Among others, the Agriculture Secretary, Director and Agriculture Extension Officers from across the State attended the event.