Malkangiri, Nov 27: A district-level Paddy Procurement Committee meeting for Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2025–26 was held today under the chairmanship of District Collector Somesh Kumar Upadhyaya. The Collector directed all district-level officials to make the necessary arrangements so that farmers can sell their paddy conveniently. He assured farmers that strict action would be taken against any officials, millers, or middlemen found violating procurement norms.
The meeting was attended by Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi, Malkangiri MLA Narsingh Madkami, Chitrakonda MLA Mangu Khila, and Zilla Parishad Chairperson Samari Tangulu. They stressed the importance of ensuring a smooth procurement process, free from the involvement of middlemen and malpractices such as unfair deductions.
As per the decision of the meeting, Kharif paddy procurement in the district will begin on 17 December, and arrangements have been made to collect paddy across all 7 blocks of Malkangiri district.
For the KMS 2025–26, an FCI warehouse will be established in Malkangiri for lifting rice.
To ensure farmer convenience, procurement centres will be equipped with:
- Digital moisture meters
- Tarpaulins
- Weighbridges
- Analysis kits
- Waiting rooms
- Shade, drinking water, electricity, toilets
- CCTV cameras
- Price display boards
- These facilities will be developed as part of a model mandi system.
Considering past issues, the Collector declared that strict action would be taken within 48 hours against any miller, RMC official, or supply official found involved in fraud, based on complaints filed at:
Local police station
Toll-free number 1967
Phone numbers 06861-230359 or 06861-291059
For better infrastructure, the administration will provide Jute bags at the Gram Panchayat level, or millers will be required to compensate farmers for the bags they provide. Special officers will be appointed to monitor this.
The Collector assured that arrangements would be made to ensure full and timely payment to all farmers at the mandi level.
To make procurement successful, RMC Chairpersons were instructed to:
Maintain close communication with farmers
Educate them in advance about FAQ (Fair Average Quality) standards
Issue tokens ahead of time
Prevent black-marketing
Police deployment and strict checking will be carried out at all district border points to curb illegal transportation of paddy.
The meeting was attended by Additional District Magistrate (Revenue) Bedabar Pradhan, Deputy Collector Agni A.A., farmer representatives, district-level officials, and others. District Supply Officer Lingaraj Behera conducted the proceedings of the meeting
Leave a Reply