Odisha asks border districts to prevent entry of paddy from Chhattisgarh

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], November 17 : The Odisha government has asked eight bordering districts to prevent entry of paddy from Chhattisgarh into the state to ensure that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) does not go to unauthorised people and paddy is procured only from registered farmers, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare (FS&CW) Department said on Tuesday.
Additional Secretary FS&CW, Bijay Kumar Prusty intimated the Collectors of Bargarh, Sambalpur, Balangir, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Jharsuguda, Sundergarh and Nabarangpur districts about this matter.
In his letter, Prusty stated that "There is a possibility that some unscrupulous traders or persons will try to push paddy procured from Chhattisgarh into the procurement system in the border district of Odisha."
He suggested that the administration should ensure that unauthorised paddy sourced from the neighbouring states does not enter the premises of procuring societies and groups in these districts.
Prusty also asked collectors to make sure that paddy procurement takes place only through registered farmers, authorised societies and groups.
The Odisha government has started Kharif paddy procurement in the state on the MSP fixed by the central government and it will continue till September 30, 2021.