Majhi launches Rs 800 input aid for farmers

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Sunday launched the distribution of additional input assistance of Rs 800 over and above the Minimum Support Price of Rs 2,300 per quintal of paddy to the farmers of the State. The State government paid additional input assistance of Rs 66 crore to more than 16,000 farmers through DBT on Sunday.

Addressing a gathering at Sohela in Bargarh district, Majhi said, “Today will be a historic day for Odisha. For farmers, this will be written in golden letters as the government has reached out to them to provide them an accurate price for their paddy.”

To give respect to the farmers, the government has started providing additional input assis-tance of Rs 800 over and above the MSP of Rs 2,300 per quintal of paddy to the farmers of the State, he said. “I am very happy with launching this initiative for the farmers,” he said. The government has selected Sohela to launch the distribution of the additional input subsidy be-cause the area is treated as a hub of farmers, he said.

Former chief minister Naveen Patnaik had given a false promise to provide a Rs 100 bonus to the farmers in 2016, Majhi alleged. “The previous government was exploiting the farmers through middlemen. It had promised to provide a bonus of Rs 100 to the paddy farmers but never implemented it. To give a befitting reply to the false promise, I came here today to dis-tribute the input assistance,” he added.

“In its election manifesto, the BJP had promised to procure paddy from farmers at a price of Rs 3,100 per quintal. Today, the promise was fulfilled,” the Chief Minister said. Majhi said within one hour of taking oath, he called the first Cabinet meeting and took important decisions, in-cluding distribution of Rs 800 per quintal input assistance to paddy farmers. What the previous government failed to do in its 24 years of rule, the BJP government implemented it within six months, he claimed.

Paddy procurement for the kharif season started on November 20 and so far, more than 21,500 farmers have sold their paddy to the government, Majhi said. He said the government procures paddy from farmers during the kharif season and the minimum support price is paid directly to their bank accounts within 48 hours.

To ensure smooth paddy procurement, ministers have been appointed to look after different districts. Nodal officers have been appointed in each mandi to keep a close watch on the paddy procurement process. In case of any complaint, farmers can directly call the 1967 helpline, the Chief Minister said. Similarly, a task force has been formed in the border districts to ensure that trucks carrying paddy from outside the State do not enter Odisha, he added.

Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo said, “Our government believes in work not words. What we have promised to farmers before the election has been delivered today.”

Among others, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra, Cooperation Minister Pradeep Bal Samanta and local MP and MLAs attended the event.

Another Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida and several ministers also graced the event virtu-ally from different districts.