JAGATSINGHPUR: Error in online entry of land record details of farmers by the Data Entry Operators (DEOs) has led to distress sale of paddy in the district. Sources said the district has 96 Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACs), in which nearly 25,000 farmers have registered their names by giving detailed information about their land, to procure paddy during kharif season. But negligence by the officials in entering the details of document of farmers has forced the latter to sell their paddy to middlemen at throwaway prices.
Moreover, the faulty entry regarding the names of farmers, plot number, name of village, total acres of land and cultivated areas of farmers have compelled the officials of Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare department to block the land details of farmers. This has deprived hundreds of farmers of selling their paddy through procurement centre.
Sushant Pal, a farmer from Gobindapokhari village under Jagatsinghpur block, said he has 2.42 acres of land but the entire land details have been blocked by the officials of Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare department due to discrepancy. The land details of Pal, which was fed in the system, showed in favour of another farmer, Pramoda Das of Koraput district, who has already sold his paddy through the procurement centre.
Similarly, another farmer said his name has been registered under Sanpur Cooperative Societies. Of the five acres of his land, two acres have been blocked by the department concerned due to irregularity, which will deprive him of selling paddy of the rest two acres of his land through the procurement centre.
Around 320 farmers have been registered under Sanpur Cooperative Societies and land details of about 45 farmers have been blocked. Of the 25,000 farmers, the land details of nearly 5,000 farmers of different PACs have been blocked due to wrong entry of data.
It has been also found that names of hundreds of farmers of different PACs have not yet been registered online. As a result, they have been forced to sell their paddy at a cost of Rs 800 to Rs 1,000 instead of the fixed government price of Rs 1,410.
As per the provision, farmers have to collect coupons from PACs and reach the procurement centres on the assigned date to hand over their paddy stocks. Though the list of farmers has been selected through online system, the glitches have resulted in total chaos in market yards. Farmers, who came to hand over their harvest in the market yard, had to wait for several days for their turn.
Contacted, District Civil Supply Officer Raghunath Gamang said the wrong entry by DEOs has compelled them to block the names of some of the farmers. “We have advised the farmers to get the anomalies corrected before the procurement process. We have targeted to procure 5.88 lakh tonnes of paddy from the farmers,” he added.