BHAWANIPATNA: Deduction of paddy against cost of gunny bags used for packing the grains has led to resentment among farmers of Kalahandi district.
Usually, gunny bags are provided by millers to farmers. For every bag of paddy sold, one kg of paddy is deducted towards weight of each gunny bag by agents of millers in the mandis or procurement centres.
A gunny bag that has the capacity to stock a minimum of 45 kg grains weighs 650 gram and at least two bags are required to pack a quintal of paddy.
While this has been the practice in all the 178 mandis, no steps are being taken by the administration to stop the deduction that farmers claim is illegal.
Consider this - around 40 lakh quintal of kharif paddy will be procured in the district this procurement season.
Going by the deduction, for 40 lakh quintal paddy there will be deduction of over 28,000 quintal of paddy towards gunny bags which is valued more than Rs 5.20 crore.
The minimum support price of one quintal fair average quality paddy is Rs 1,815.
“We have been raising this issue with the authorities concerned but to no avail. The deduction was done last kharif procurement season as well”, said Santanu Mund, director of Khairpadar PACS who is also a farmer from Brahman Chenai village.
Millers too are unhappy over the gunny bag depreciation charge. They alleged that the Civil Supply Corporation is paying only Rs 14.05 towards depreciation charge of three gunny bags which should be at least Rs 20.
They said the Government should change the procurement policy for benefit of the millers.
Meanwhile, the district administration has drawn the plan for ensuing rabi crop season when 2.23 lakh hectare (ha) of land would be covered under different crops - 59,197 ha under paddy, 1,16,809 ha under pulses, 23,868 ha under oilseeds, 19,121 under vegetables and 2,515 ha under onion.
Irrigation water would be provided to 92,622 ha through Indravati project, mega irrigation and life irrigation points besides, borewells.