JAGATSINGHPUR: Even as thousands of farmers are left in the lurch after completion of paddy procurement, suspension of three secretaries and data entry operators (DEOs) of primary agriculture cooperative societies (PACS) in one week has brought to fore allegations of embezzlement in sale across Jagatsinghpur district.
The district administration initiated inquiry by revenue and civil supply officials after farmers staged demonstration alleging faulty tokens for paddy sale. Many farmers could not sell their paddy as they were not given dates to sell their produce even though tokens were issued.
According to procurement system, after registration of farmers in Paddy Procurement Automation System (P-PAS), a token is issued to them and subsequently, four dates are provided to them to bring their produce to the mandis. Paddy must be sold within 30 days of issue of tokens.
As many as 105 paddy procurement centres (PPCs) were opened across the district for kharif paddy and 39,276 farmers registered. However, 4,767 farmers could not sell their produce despite possessing tokens.
Jatadhari Acharya, a farmer of Chadeigaon under Jagatsinghpur block, said he received the token in February for selling 53 quintal of paddy. "But I was never given a date to sell the paddy. After the token expired last month, I had no option but to sell paddy to a middleman at a lower rate," he said.
Like Jatadhari, many farmers were forced to sell their paddy to local agents at Rs 1,350 to Rs 1,400 per quintal against the government fixed MSP of Rs 1,868. At Katara PACS under Tirtol block, investigation revealed that DEO Deepan Kumar Acharya had issued tokens to 150 farmers in January but none could sell paddy.
Acharya did not issue sale dates and allegedly used tokens to buy paddy from middlemen and agents at Rs 1,868 per quintal. Similar irregularities were found in PACS at Hansura, Napang and Bagoi panchayats of Kujang block.
Assistant Registrar of Cooperative Societies Subhadra Patnaik suspended Acharya and terminated Katara PACS secretary Pramod Kumar Das from paddy purchase committee. Also DEOs of Bagaoi and Napang PACS have been disengaged, while secretaries of Hansuran and Bagoi PACS were terminated.
District Civil Supply Officer Bibekananda Korkora said, the administration had fixed a target to procure 15.55 lakh quintal from farmers but managed 14,60 lakh quintal due to lapses of tokens. Total 28 millers were engaged to procure paddy from 105 PPCs, he added