BARGARH: The Bargarh unit of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Thursday submitted a memorandum to the district collector demanding immediate rollback of the new farmer registration norms introduced for kharif paddy procurement.
In the memorandum addressed to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, the BJD warned of launching mass agitation if the concerns of farmers are not addressed soon.
Terming the revised guidelines complicated and restrictive, the BJD said the mandatory provisions such as biometric verification of all co-sharers, their presence at the registered location, eye scan, and digital consent are impractical for a large section of genuine farmers. In many joint families, members live outside the state or are unable to travel, making it difficult to complete the process within the stipulated time.
The party pointed out that in several cases, land records are either consolidated or jointly held, and obtaining the presence and consent of all co-owners poses serious challenges. As a result, the registration process, instead of becoming easier, has become more complex and time-consuming.
The memorandum further said such provisions could potentially deprive nearly 70 per cent farmers of the district from participating in the paddy procurement under the minimum support price (MSP) system.
The BJD said the state government should immediately roll back the new system and reinstate the earlier registration procedure, which was more accessible and allowed farmers to register themselves without complicated formalities.
BJD’s Bargarh district president Sushanta Mahapatra, former ministers Snehangini Chhuria and Rita Sahu besides former MLA Debesh Acharya submitted the memorandum to collector Aditya Goyal.
On the other hand, collector Goyal said there appears to be some misconceptions regarding the new guidelines. The revised norms aim to ensure that only genuine farmers are registered and rightful beneficiaries receive the input subsidy without complications.