Bhubaneswar, January 13: The Odisha government has procured over 26.28 lakh tons of paddy from farmers and paid a total of Rs 7,379 crore this season, including Rs 1,904 crore as input subsidy, State Food and Supplies Minister Krishna Chandra Patra said on Monday.
Minister Patra further informed that 4,99,778 farmers have already received payment for their paddy.
Patra said that the Market Intelligence (MI) officer in Paradip, Jagatsinghpur district, had been suspended for negligence in duty, adding that strict action would be taken against anyone found guilty of dereliction of duty.
The minister also admitted that the number of paddy analyzers available at mandis across the state is currently inadequate. He assured that more machines would be introduced in the future to facilitate the procurement process and better serve the farmers.
