BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to clamp down on illegal inflow of paddy from neighbouring Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, the state government has intensified surveillance and enforcement in key border districts.
Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare department officials said Odisha’s higher procurement price of Rs 3,100 per quintal including input subsidy of around Rs 800 has lured smugglers to exploit price differentials across state boundaries. They are sneaking in paddy from neighbouring states to sell it at premium within Odisha’s paddy procurement system.
In a bid to negate illegal movement of paddy into Odisha, especially from neighbouring states with lower MSPs, special enforcement teams have been deployed in border districts such as Bargarh, Balasore, Nuapada, Malkangiri, Jharsuguda, Sundargarh and Mayurbhanj, supported by camera-mounted vehicles and 24×7 CCTV surveillance.
These units are tasked with monitoring vehicle movements and intercepting suspected smuggling attempts before they reach procurement centres. District collectors have also instructed officials to conduct regular vehicle checks at key border checkposts and take strict action against violators.
Official sources from Balasore district said that many farmers who have registered for sale of paddy with fabricated land documents are trying to smuggle in paddy from West Bengal through middlemen and sell the same to the government under decentralised procurement.
They are paying around Rs 1,500 to Rs 1,700 per quintal to the middlemen and making a good profit.
On the other hand, demand of paddy is also high among traders and millers in Andhra Pradesh. While West Bengal traders are also eager to transport their paddy to the southern state, they are finding it difficult to despatch their consignments through Odisha in view of strict enforcement at border checkposts and other routes. “Districts adjoining Andhra Pradesh such as Ganjam, Gajapati, Koraput and Malkangiri are witnessing massive procurement of paddy by AP traders.
Authorities in these districts have also set up multiple checkposts to inspect inbound and outbound paddy consignments,” sources said. Meanwhile, delays in opening purchase centres and issuance of tokens in some districts have reportedly led farmers to offload paddy directly to private traders.