Rabi Paddy Procurement Preparedness Reviewed in Detail as District Collector Leads Coordination Meeting with Officials and Stakeholders

Nabarangpur, June 11:  A meeting regarding the Rabi paddy procurement process was held at the Ashok Mehta Conference Hall in the District Collector’s office under the chairmanship of District Collector Maheshwar Swain.

The meeting was attended by Additional District Magistrate (General) Pramod Kumar Prusti, Chief District Agriculture Officer Sudhar Ranjan Behera, DRCS/RCS Sarat Chandra Panigrahi, and CSO Debashish Mohanty.

During the meeting, the District Collector directed the DRCS to take necessary action against those LAMPS involved in registering non-paddy agricultural land for paddy procurement. He emphasized that paddy should be procured only from eligible registered farmers.

The Collector also instructed officials to identify and blacklist any farmers who attempt to commit fraud by bringing Kharif season paddy for sale during the Rabi procurement period, following proper investigation.

The meeting discussed strict adherence to government guidelines during paddy procurement, ensuring adequate tarpaulin arrangements for storing paddy stocks, and preventing irregularities at procurement points, especially activities involving trader agents, millers, or middlemen.

It was further emphasized that only FAQ (Fair Average Quality) standard paddy should be procured. Regarding the KMS 2025–26 Rabi paddy procurement season, departmental officers were instructed to ensure that participating millers do not engage in any irregular or fraudulent procurement activities.

The District Collector directed field-level officials to take immediate action on all irregularities and complaints. Mandi supervisory officers were instructed to closely monitor all paddy sale-related activities at the mandis.

He also directed that CCTV systems installed at procurement centres must remain operational at all times. Millers were instructed to lift paddy through the VTS system, and vehicles transporting paddy must be equipped with VLD devices.

Finally, the District Collector instructed all concerned officials, procurement agencies, RICs, and LAMPS/PACS to strictly comply with the above guidelines. The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks to the chairperson and all participating members.