Bhubaneswar, December 31: So far, 10 lakh metric tonnes of paddy has been procured from around 2.28 lakh farmers during the ongoing kharif season in the State and about Rs 1,790 crore has been transferred to the farmers' accounts as MSP and Rs 552 crore as Input Assistance.
This was disclosed in a review meeting chaired by Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra at Lokseva Bhawan.
The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Department Sanjay Kumar Singh, Managing Director, Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation, K. Sudarshan Chakravarthy along with other senior officials.
The Minister instructed officials to expedite the procurement adopting all transparency measures during ongoing Kharif season and to protect the interest of the farmers.
He also emphasised on appropriate action on the allegations of irregularities. The department plans to establish 10 LMT capacity godowns as construction of 4 LMT capacities has received the government nod.
Similarly, a proposal for construction of another 6 LMT Godown will be submitted soon. Process for evacuation of surplus rice produced from the paddy procured to the Food Corporation of India also discussed in this review meeting.
