M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, Nov. 23: Jharkhand’s farmers will now get 50% of the minimum support price (MSP) of their crops right at the time when the procurement center procures the paddy from them.
The MSP along with the bonus for general paddy is fixed at Rs. 2,050 per quintal in the state.
Palamu administration has assured this 50% payment to the farmers but their past experiences in regard to MSP have been bitter and sour for reasons of delayed digital transfer in their accounts.
The FCI is responsible for procuring the paddy in Palamu. But according to some sources, its handling is near disastrous.
Last year, the state government stopped paddy procurement midway citing rains had moistened the paddy and hence, its quality is to be first assured. Sources said that the moistening of paddy was due to bad management of stocking the crop.
Hundreds of bags of paddy were found stocked right across NH 98 last Kharif season in Chhatarpur.
Minister of food, civil supplies and consumer affairs Rameshwar Oraon had to issue an official statement after the hue and cry by the farmers and BJP over the midway stoppage of paddy procurement.
Sources said that middlemen develop nexus with paddy procurement centers personnel and genuine farmers are harassed in different ways like delay in measuring their paddy, billing and restocking.
Three SMS messages are to be sent to the registered farmers to bring in their consignment of paddy at the centers but it is deliberately derailed by the vested interests to get room for fake farmers to get in the queue to dump their paddy for its procurement.
A press note by the Palamu administration reads that there were 16 paddy procurement centers in Palamu last season. This Kharif season they have been doubled, taking the number to 40. There is also an increase in the target of paddy procurement which was raised from 8 lakh tonnes last year to 9 lakh this Kharif season.
Five millers have staked their claim for rice making. These millers are from Sasaram and Aurangabad in Bihar, Saraikela, Ranchi and Chiyanki in Jharkhand.
DC Palamu, Shashi Ranjan, has asked his officials to do an on the spot verification of the rice mills as in the year 2013 -14, a fake rice mill in Palamu’s Hussainabad had usurped a huge quantity of paddy without milling even a gram of rice.
The then-district supply officer rolled down the racket where there were more players than just one official, but all others managed to get away from the action.
