Navarangpur: The district BJD has alleged widespread corruption in paddy procurement at the four LAMP markets in the district and demanded a thorough investigation. To take necessary action, today the district BJD-JD team submitted a memorandum to the District Collector.
The district BJD has accused rampant corruption during paddy procurement in the current Kharif season at the Raighar, Papadahandi, Maidilpur, and Kodinga LAMP markets. The Managing Directors (MDs) of these LAMPs, in collusion with millers Madhuchandri and Chandrika, have committed extensive corruption. It is alleged that 40 to 50 percent of paddy procurement on paper alone, without actual purchase, has taken place at these LAMPs. The MDs have registered mandi cards in the names of their relatives and acquaintances to sell paddy fraudulently.
When information under the Right to Information Act was sought regarding detailed data of paddy procurement, the concerned law enforcement agencies reportedly did not include those records in their reports. The MDs have taken advantage of this loophole to continue their corrupt practices. The corruption is not limited to the LAMP MDs alone; accusations have also been made against ARC (Agricultural Rice Corporation) and DRC (District Rice Corporation) officials for accepting bribes and facilitating corruption, stated Pradip Majhi.
Additionally, 344 farmers from Raighar block have not been able to sell their paddy in the mandi for 2 to 3 months and have not received their payments. When discussions were held with the district supply officer regarding the farmers’ payments, no satisfactory response was obtained. Due to this, the district supply officer’s office was recently picketed and a sit-in protest was organized. The farmers have been promised that their payments will be made within 20 days. If the promise is not fulfilled, a stronger movement will be launched, said Pradip.
The district BJD has also demanded an investigation into where the 25.25 lakh quintals of paddy purchased in the district have been stored and in which mills.
A representative delegation led by district BJD president and Dabugaon MLA Manohar Randhari, former MP Pradip Majhi, and former Navarangpur MLA Sadashiv Pradhani met the District Collector Dr. Shubankar Mahapatra to submit the memorandum and request a high-level inquiry and action on the allegations.
Other senior leaders present during the memorandum submission included Saroj Patra, city BJD president Pramod Rath, former councilor Uttam Tripathy, and youth leader Sanjay Nayak.