Bhubaneswar, February 25 The Odisha government on Wednesday allowed district collectors to extend the validity of tokens issued to farmers by 15 days to ensure that no one is denied the opportunity to sell paddy at state-run mandis during the Kharif Marketing Season.
The government's move comes in the wake of a statewide protest over alleged mismanagement in paddy procurement across Odisha.
The issue was raised in the assembly and outside, with parties holding demonstrations demanding justice for farmers.
As part of the paddy procurement exercise, the state government issues tokens to registered farmers to sell their produce at a specific mandi within a stipulated time.
There were allegations that farmers faced difficulties in meeting the deadline mentioned in the tokens due to delays at mandis.
"The district collectors have been given the power to extend token validity by 15 days to ensure that every registered farmer gets the opportunity to sell their produce without any hassle," said Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister KC Patra in a video message issued by the department.
Asserting that paddy procurement is going smoothly under the direct monitoring of a Central Command Centre, the minister said farmers can sell their produce at state-run mandis until the end of the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) on March 31.
"So far, 63,65,000 metric tonnes of paddy have been procured by the state government. Districts like Bargarh and Sambalpur have completed nearly 95 per cent of their procurement," he said, adding that the government is prepared to purchase up to 80 lakh metric tonnes of paddy this time.
Patra also said the state government has already disbursed over Rs 17,000 crore directly into farmers' bank accounts within 48 hours of procurement.
He said the paddy procurement process for the KMS 2025-26 is advancing steadily across all 30 districts of Odisha, with the state achieving 80 per cent of its total procurement target.
More than 13 districts have already surpassed 90 per cent of their assigned procurement targets, he added.
