Bhubaneswar, Nov 29: The Odisha government has deployed special enforcement teams across various districts to combat the illegal inflow of paddy from neighbouring states during the ongoing procurement season, officials said on Friday.
A total of 84 enforcement teams have been stationed in key districts, including 10 teams in Bargarh and 21 in Sambalpur, as part of the government's effort to maintain the integrity of the procurement process.
The state's intervention comes in response to concerns that traders might attempt to exploit the higher procurement prices offered by Odisha. While the central government's Minimum Support Price (MSP) for paddy is set at Rs 2,300 per quintal, the Odisha government has added an additional Rs 800 per quintal as assistance to farmers. This incentive is seen as a potential magnet for paddy from neighbouring states, where prices may be lower.
The Odisha government aims to procure 80 lakh tonnes of paddy during the 2024-25 Kharif Marketing Season (KMS). To monitor this large-scale operation, the enforcement teams will focus on vehicles entering Odisha with paddy from other states, as well as those transporting paddy from local mandis (procurement centres) to mills and depots. The teams are authorized to take immediate action, including seizing vehicles caught violating regulations.
The Kharif paddy procurement season commenced on November 20 and will run until March 2025.
