Bhubaneswar: Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singhdeo chaired a detailed review meeting on Friday at the Lok Seva Bhavan, focusing on the ongoing implementation of the Samruddha Krushak Yojana. The discussions centered on enhancing paddy procurement processes and providing adequate support to farmers under the scheme.
Singhdeo underscored the need to ensure that Rabi and Kharif paddy are procured efficiently through the Paddy Procurement Automation System (P-PAS). He emphasized the importance of issuing procurement tokens to all eligible farmers, allowing them to sell their produce at government mandis. Singhdeo also called for the acceleration of maintenance activities to ensure smooth operations across all touchpoints of the scheme.
The Deputy CM reaffirmed the government’s commitment to offering a minimum support price of Rs 3,100 per quintal, urging officials to verify farmers’ Aadhaar-linked details thoroughly before disbursing payments. He directed that certificates be issued to rice mills after confirming their stock levels and production capacity, with these certificates being used to determine electricity bill rebates for the mills.
In addition, Singhdeo suggested that the validity of paddy sale tokens should be extended, providing farmers with more flexibility in selling their produce.
The state has earmarked Rs 5,000 crore for the Samruddha Krushak Yojana in the current fiscal year. To date, over 8.56 lakh farmers have benefited from selling their produce through the mandis. The meeting also discussed providing financial assistance of Rs 800 per quintal to agencies supplying seeds, based on the quantity delivered.
Further, Singhdeo highlighted the need for the timely distribution of tokens via SMS to eligible farmers, ensuring they receive full payment within 24 to 48 hours of selling paddy. The use of digital crop surveys and satellite monitoring was also discussed as a means to prevent crop loss and discourage fraudulent practices. The meeting concluded with plans to utilize PACS, LAMPS, Women Self-Help Groups (WSHGs), and Pani Panchayats as registration centers for the scheme.
The review was attended by key officials, including Principal Secretary Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare VV Yadav, Principal Secretary Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment Dr. Arabinda Kumar Padhee, Commissioner cum Secretary Rajesh Prabhakar Patil, and Director of Agriculture and Food Production Prem Chandra Chaudhary.
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