Food Corporation Of India has set up only three paddy procurement centres across 20 blocks in Palamu district which have turned into
harassment cells for farmers. Sources said farmers are to travel down 50 to 90 kms with their paddy to sell it to FCI at its Hariharganj, Chhatarpur and Chiyanki centres.
FCI official B Minz said that there is a crunch of human resources and hence the FCI has just set up three paddy procurement centres in the district. Minz agreed that farmers would have to sweat out for selling their paddy to the FCI.
A farmer at Chak village about 90 Kms away from Chiyanki said he would never be able to sell his paddy to FCI as the cost of transporting of paddy would make him a loser.
The State Government has put up price of `1410 for procurement of paddy every quintal for plain variety while `1450 rupees per quintal for grade A paddy. However, as far as the moisture content is concerned it must not exceed 17% for both the varieties.
Palamu is already drought hit and has been paddy yield less than 30 per cent this year. Inputs suggest that only rich farmers who were equipped with pump sets and had good yield of paddy could afford to sell their paddy to FCI.
FCI is doing its maiden business for paddy procurement here in Palamu. Earlier it was done by the PACS. The State Government has disallowed PACS to enter into this paddy procurement trade. Sources said there were complaints of malpractices of PACS in the paddy procurement.
DC Palamu K Srinivasan told The Pioneer, "We have written a letter to Government in the third week of December urging it to allow PACS to procure paddy here since we understand FCI will find it hard to procure paddy from the length and breadth of Palamu which has 20 blocks in its string. But still we will ask the FCI to open more centres and that is the only solution right now."
On the other hand FCI official B Minz said ‘ The FCI is hard hit by man power and hence setting up of more procurement centre for paddy is a distant dream.