BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday announced the Food and Procurement Policy for 2011-12 kharif marketing season in anticipation of Cabinet approval.Although delayed by over a month, the procurement policy was e-mailed to all the district collectors just before the Chief Minister’s video-conferencing with them on the issue of paddy procurement. The Chief Minister directed the district collectors to ensure that the farmers get the minimum support price announced by the Centre for different grades of paddy. Under no circumstances distress sale of paddy by farmers will be tolerated, he cautioned. Although the Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Department is yet to fix district-wise target for paddy procurement, the Chief Minister asked the district collectors to open adequate number of mandis (paddy purchase centres) for farmers’ convenience. The collectors have been advised to declare the existing market yards located in procurement areas belonging to the regulated market committees (RMCs) as mandis. In blocks where paddy procurement is too heavy, temporary market yards with minimum facilities should be set up by the RMC concerned. The Government has fixed the rice procurement target for the 2011-12 kharif marketing season at 28 lakh tonnes, including eight lakh tonnes for rabi. With a bonus of ` 80 per quintal, the MSP for common variety of paddy of fair average quality has been fixed at ` 1,080 while the MSP for Grade-A variety paddy is ` 1,110. As reports of distress sale of paddy have started trickling in from across the State, the Chief Minister asked the collectors to ensure that the farmers are paid through account payee cheques. Strong action should be taken against private traders and rice-mill owners who are indulging in paddy procurement through unfair means. He further directed them to involve more women self-help groups and pani panchayats apart from the primary agriculture cooperative societies (PACs) in the paddy procurement. The Chief Minister also reviewed the distribution of ` 2-a-kg rice through the public distribution system, enforcement activities, the newly-launched Mamata scheme for pregnant women, Bhima Bhoi Bhinnakhyama Samarthya Yojana for physically-challenged and distribution of cycles among girl students. Expressing his displeasure over the delay in repair and reconstruction of roads and river embankments, he directed department concerned to complete the work within the stipulated time without fail.
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