Aadhaar card not mandatory for paddy procurement in Odisha

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Sambalpur, Nov 4:

Odisha Government today announced that Aadhaar card will not be made mandatory for paddy procurement in the state.

Besides, the government will procure Kharif crops through Paddy Procurement Automation System (P-PAS) across 297 blocks out of the 314 blocks of the state, said Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Sanjay Das Burma addressing a procurement review meeting in Sambalpur today.

In addition, payments to the farmers will be made through the P-PAS online medium to ensure transparency. Government also laid focus on organizing the procurement process further to increase efficiency. It will use the Bhulekh database to identify farmers and ensure payouts within 3-4 days of procurement.

“This year, we plan to procure paddy through P-PAS system across 297 blocks. The payment against the procurement will be done online. This will be the first such instance in the state.  Further, we will also use Bhulekh database to identify genuine farmers,” said Das Burma.

As many as 8,81,927 farmers, so far, have registered for the procurement that is scheduled to begin from November 1 and will continue till March. Registration of new farmers are still going on, according to the Minister.

It may be noted here that the State Government has set itself an ambitious target of procuring 30 lakh metric tonnes of paddy during the kharif season this year.