Nabarangpur, Dec, 04: A complaint has emerged that brokers are buying rice in the name of women’s self-help groups (SHGs). Following this, during the district-level rice procurement committee meeting, Nabarangpur MP, Eng. Balabhadra Majhi, reportedly left the meeting in protest.
The MP has been demanding an investigation since 2024, citing suspicious activities involving 44 SHG groups engaged in rice procurement in the district. However, neither the supply department nor the district administration paid attention to these concerns, resulting in middlemen and brokers benefiting at the expense of farmers.
Following the MP’s complaint, District Collector Dr. Maheswar Swain has directed that the status of all SHGs be inspected within 7 days.
According to the pre-determined schedule, a rice procurement committee meeting had been held on Friday evening. However, dissatisfaction arose when the administration ignored the representatives’ concerns, prompting the MP to leave the meeting.
Along with MP Majhi, Nabarangpur MLA Gaurishankar Majhi, Jharinga MLA Narsingh Bhatara, and ministerial representative Kahun Dash also attended the meeting. District Collector Swain, District Council Executive Officer Biranch Narayan Darwan, Sub-Collector Prakash Mishra, District Supply Officer Debashish Mahanti, and farmers’ representative Jhadreshwar Khadanga were present and tried to clarify issues.
The district administration assured that changes would be made to the ongoing Kharif rice procurement process. In the first phase, starting December 17, the district aims to procure 14 lakh quintals of rice.
This year, 95,000 hectares of land in the district have been cultivated with Kharif rice. A total of 50,919 farmers have been registered for procurement: 22,221 in 59 mandis and 26,516 in 44 SHGs across 2 panchayats.
The RMS (Rashtriya Krishi Mandi Samiti) will assist in rice procurement at all mandis, according to information shared by editor Kapilendra Sasmal. After procurement, rice will be lifted following government guidelines, as stated by Millers’ Association President Pradeep Mishra and Vishwamber Dash.
The Dabugaon MLA and MP representatives raised concerns in a meeting regarding reports that brokers were transporting rice to neighboring states. District Supply Officer confirmed that surplus rice is indeed leaving the district.