TNI Bureau: The Inter-Ministerial Committee, chaired by the Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment and Energy, reviewed the ongoing Kharif 2025–26 paddy procurement at Lokseva Bhavan.

During the meeting, the Deputy Chief Minister directed officials to extend full cooperation to farmers and resolve procurement-related issues without delay. He also asked departmental officers to make regular visits to mandis to closely monitor the process.

Paddy procurement for the current Kharif season is underway in 11 districts—Bargarh, Balangir, Boudh, Jharsuguda, Kalahandi, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Nuapada, Sambalpur, Subarnapur and Sundargarh. To ensure transparency, CCTV cameras have been installed in all mandis, with the entire process being monitored through a 24-hour control room. This year, additional mandis have been strengthened and model mandis developed as per Central Government guidelines to improve facilities for farmers.

As per official data, 4,39,294 metric tonnes of paddy have been procured so far from 97,972 farmers across the state. Bargarh district has recorded the highest procurement, with 36,356 farmers selling 1,63,288 metric tonnes of paddy. A total of 9,41,433 farmers have been issued tokens, and procurement will begin in other districts as per the scheduled timeline.

Officials said e-KYC is being carried out during registration, and payments are being transferred directly to farmers’ Aadhaar-linked bank accounts. Vehicle movement from mandis to rice mills is also being tracked live through the VTS application to prevent irregularities.

The meeting was attended by Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Rabi Narayan Naik, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra, Cooperation Minister Pradeep Bal Samanta, Principal Secretary Dr Arabinda Kumar Padhee, Sanjay Kumar Singh, and senior officers from concerned departments.