JEYPORE: Farmers of Koraput district have strongly opposed the new registration norms for selling paddy through regulated mandis, alleging that the government’s stringent requirements are making the process difficult and indirectly preventing genuine cultivators from selling their produce.
The Koraput Krushak Kalyan Manch on Sunday announced to launch protests across the district, demanding immediate rollback of the new registration provisions and urging the government to introduce simple, farmer-friendly norms for registration and e-KYC.
Farmer leaders questioned how joint landholders, particularly members of the same family, would complete the mandatory e-KYC process when the land records are jointly held in the names of several persons. They also objected to the requirement for the presence or consent of all co-sharers in cases where land is jointly recorded.
“The new registration norms are impractical and will create enormous difficulties for ordinary farmers. How can a joint property holder complete e-KYC when the land is recorded in the names of several family members, many of whom may be living away from the village?” farmers questioned.
They further pointed out that a large section of cultivators do not have agricultural land records in their own names. They said nearly 70 per cent of farmers in many areas cultivate land recorded in the names of their fathers, mothers, forefathers or other family members.
The farmers further alleged that insisting on strict documentary requirements without considering the ground realities of landholding and cultivation in rural areas would deprive genuine cultivators of access to mandis.
Manch leader Narendra Pradhan said the new norms appeared to be indirectly denying farmers their legitimate right to sell paddy at government procurement centres. “Instead of making the registration process easier for farmers, the government is imposing impractical conditions. The new norms will create unnecessary hurdles for genuine cultivators and may force them to sell their paddy outside the regulated procurement system at distress prices. This amounts to discouraging farmers from participating in government procurement,” he said.
The government should immediately review the norms after taking into account the actual conditions prevailing among farmers, particularly those cultivating ancestral and jointly recorded land. If the norms are not withdrawn, farmers will be forced to launch protests, Pradhan added.