BJP MPs from Odisha meet Union Food Minister over irregularities in paddy procurement

Bhubaneswar, Mar 16: BJP MPs from Odisha today met Union Food Minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi over irregularities in paddy procurement in the state. It came a day after BJD MPs’ meeting with the Union Minister over similar issue. The BJP MPs also submitted a memorandum to the Union Minister. The BJP MPS alleged that BJD in its misleading and malicious statements about not receiving Central financial support for paddy procurement has been conveniently trying to belie its own systematic failure in governance and management of allied agricultural and extension services to Odisha's farmers. “Despite this years' better-than-expected harvest of paddy due to a favourable monsoon, the State Government did not revise its ceiling of paddy procurement of 19 quintals for every acre of irrigated land and 13 quintals for every acre of non-irrigated land. As a result thousands of farmers were left with unsold paddy which they had to sell at half the price of MSP fixed by the Central government, i.e. Rs 1868 per quintal. There have also been many cases reported in local media where farmers have been prohibited from selling due quantities of their harvest as per their landholding so as to favour a few political supporters of the ruling party at a heavy cost to many small and marginal farmers,” read the memorandum.