Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Wednesday refuted allegations made by a Bargarh farmer who sought permission for euthanasia over alleged difficulties in selling paddy through the government procurement system, stating that the land registered by him for procurement was not under paddy cultivation.
Clarifying the matter, Sanjay Singh, Principal Secretary of the Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Department, said official records show that farmer Gopal Krushna Sahu of Melchhamunda village in Bargarh district had registered 2.49 acres of land under Plot No. 472, Khata No. 8, through Melchhamunda SCS with Farmer Code F03111990646.
According to the Principal Secretary, the registered plot was identified as non-crop land under the Odisha Paddy Land Survey (OPLS) satellite verification process. As a result, the land was not found eligible for paddy procurement registration.
“As clearly visible in the OPLS satellite survey, the registered plot of the farmer is not cultivated with paddy and has accordingly been rejected,” Singh stated.
The clarification came after Sahu wrote to the Bargarh Collector on June 23 seeking permission for euthanasia, alleging that authorities had failed to issue him a procurement token required for selling paddy at a government mandi. Copies of the letter were also marked to the President, Prime Minister and Chief Minister.
In his letter, the farmer claimed that the delay in procurement had left him unable to repay loans taken for agricultural activities and his mother’s medical treatment. He alleged that despite approaching district authorities, no steps were taken to facilitate procurement of his produce.
The state government’s clarification, however, indicated that the issue stemmed from the ineligibility of the land registered by the farmer, as satellite-based verification did not detect paddy cultivation on the plot.
Officials maintained that paddy procurement under the state system is linked to verification of cultivated land through the OPLS mechanism, which is intended to ensure that procurement benefits reach genuine cultivators.
