On Sunday, December 8, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi fulfilled one of the BJP’s key election promises by launching the distribution of additional input assistance to farmers. The government is providing Rs 800 per quintal on top of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 2,300 for paddy, bringing the total price to Rs 3,100 per quintal.
At an event in Sohela, Bargarh district, the Chief Minister disbursed the input assistance through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), benefiting over 16,000 farmers. The state government allocated Rs 66 crore for this initiative.
“Today will be a historic day for Odisha. For farmers, this will be written in golden letters as the government has reached out to them to provide an accurate price for their paddy,” the Chief Minister said while addressing the gathering.
Criticising the previous BJD government, the CM accused the Naveen Patnaik regime of betraying farmers by making false promises of providing an additional Rs 100 as a bonus per quintal of paddy.
Majhi described the previous BJD regime as ‘anti-farmer’, claiming it cheated the farming community. He stated that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took swift action to fulfil the promise of providing input assistance to farmers soon after assuming office.
Emphasising the BJP government’s commitment to the welfare and empowerment of farmers, the Chief Minister noted that the government procures paddy from farmers during the kharif season using a transparent procedure, with payments made directly to their bank accounts within 48 hours.
The Chief Minister highlighted the measures taken by the state government to ensure that the paddy procurement process is fully transparent. He stated that he, along with the Deputy Chief Minister, the Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment, the Minister of Food Supply and Consumer Welfare, and the Minister of Cooperation, has been conducting regular reviews with senior officials and district collectors to ensure that the process is robust, transparent, and fair, ensuring no eligible farmer misses out on receiving their due.
He also noted that district-level officers are vigilant and working diligently to prevent paddy from other states from entering Odisha. A separate system has been established for this purpose, and the Chief Minister emphasised that this mechanism is closely monitored in border regions to stop any illegal paddy from crossing into the state.
Enforcement teams are actively monitoring trucks carrying paddy from mandis, he added. To swiftly address any complaints, nodal officers have been appointed in each district, and the government has implemented a foolproof system for paddy procurement.
The Chief Minister encouraged farmers to communicate directly if they encounter any issues in the paddy procurement process and assured them that they can contact the 1967 toll-free helpline to report any problems.
Furthermore, he assured farmers that there would be no difficulties in receiving the additional Rs 800 assistance. The Agriculture Department has already allocated a provision of Rs 5,000 crore in the budget to ensure the smooth disbursement of the Rs 3,100 per quintal price. The Chief Minister emphasised that this reflects the government’s commitment to the welfare of farmers and described it as an internal measure designed to benefit the farming community under the double-engine government.
Thousands of farmers participated in the major event hosted by the Department of Food Supply and Consumer Welfare in Sohela.
Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment, Energy Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari, Minister of Food Supply and Consumer Welfare, Science and Technology Krushna Chandra Patra, and Minister of Cooperatives, Handlooms, Textiles and Handicrafts Pradeep Bal Samanta were in attendance at the event in Sohela.
Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Women and Child Development, Mission Shakti Pravati Parida, attended the programme in Puri, while the Minister for Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water, Rural Development, Rabi Narayan Naik, graced the event in Sambalpur.
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