Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Monday finalized a comprehensive operational framework and administrative protocol for paddy procurement during the Rabi season of Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2025-26, with a strong emphasis on safeguarding the interests of small and marginal farmers and preventing irregularities in the procurement process.
The high-level Inter-Ministerial Committee meeting was chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and attended by Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari through video conference from Deogarh, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra, Cooperation Minister Pradeep Bal Samanta, and Panchayati Raj Minister Rabi Narayan Naik.
During the meeting, Singh Deo stressed the need to ensure that genuine farmers receive the maximum benefit from the procurement system while eliminating leakages and unauthorized trade practices.
To strengthen transparency and accountability, the state government issued a series of digital and field-level enforcement directives. District Collectors have been instructed to undertake daily operational reviews in coordination with field inspectors and civil society organizations.
Among the major measures announced are strict border sealing to prevent the inflow of unauthorized paddy from outside the state, mandatory IRIS scanning of farmers at Mandis, and compulsory paddy weighment only within designated procurement centres.
The government has also introduced a stringent digital grievance redressal mechanism under which all procurement-related complaints uploaded on the Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare (FS&CW) grievance portal must be resolved within 24 hours by designated nodal officers. A dedicated toll-free grievance helpline, 1967, has also been integrated with state-level control rooms.
The committee further emphasized infrastructural preparedness and inter-departmental coordination to ensure smooth procurement operations. Departments including Revenue, Cooperation, Police, Transport and Agriculture have been directed to work in close coordination, while all districts will mandatorily implement a Vehicle Tracking System (VTS) for transportation monitoring.
District administrations have also been instructed to ensure basic amenities at Paddy Procurement Centres (PPCs), including rest sheds, toilets and drinking water facilities. In addition, procurement centres must have round-the-clock CCTV surveillance, adequate lighting arrangements and sufficient tarpaulins to protect paddy stocks from adverse weather conditions.
The committee also directed the Legal Metrology Department to ensure calibration and functionality of all testing equipment before procurement operations begin.
Officials informed the meeting that during Kharif 2025-26, as many as 18,84,628 farmers sold 77,48,083 metric tonnes of paddy in the state. Odisha recorded a 14 per cent increase in the number of farmers participating in procurement and a 5.48 per cent growth in procurement volume during KMS 2025-26.
To manage the increased procurement volumes, the state government is expanding and streamlining Paddy Procurement Centres, while the Food Corporation of India (FCI) has been asked to establish additional godowns in high-production regions to augment storage capacity.
Principal Secretary, FS&CW, Sanjay Kumar Singh, Commissioner-cum-Secretary of Cooperation Rajesh Pravakar Patil, Commissioner-cum-Secretary of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment Sachin Ramchandra Jadhav, along with senior officials from Agriculture, Food Supply, Cooperation and Panchayati Raj departments, attended the meeting.
