Primary agriculture cooperative societies secretaries in soup for paddy procurement lapse 

JAGATSINGHPUR: The Registrar of Cooperative Societies, on Wednesday, directed the assistant registrar of cooperative societies to take action against eight secretaries of primary agriculture cooperative societies  (PACS) for wilful violation procurement policy norms during 2021-2022 which led hundreds of farmers to lose their harvested paddy.

The Civil Supplies department, sources said, had issued tokens to nearly 45,381 farmers of the district for procurement of 11.73 lakh quintal paddy during kharif 2021-2022. The administration had engaged 33 millers against the actual requirement of 42 which apparently caused delay in lifting of paddy from farmers.  

As a result, nearly 8000 tokens with a mandate to procure 3 lakh quintal paddy lapsed and no effort was made to renew those.

Aggrieved, hundreds of farmers under the banner of Naba Nirman Krushak Sangathan had staged dharana in front of Collector's office demanding lifting of paddy from them. But neither the administration nor Civil Supplies department fulfilled the demands.  Even now, the paddy are lying damaged at different paddy procurement centres (PPCs), the farmers alleged.

Similarly, the Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare department had instructed iris scan of each farmer before procurement to ensure fake paddy growers do not enter the fray but the secretaries of the PACS allegedly did not adhere to the rule to facilitate private agents to sell their paddy.

A few days later, the administration sought the intervention of Cooperation and Food Supplies & Consumer Welfare department to conduct an inquiry into the alleged irregularities during paddy procurement.

District Civil Supplies Officer Sujata Mishra said, as per instructions of the administration, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Department conducted an inquiry into the allegations. "We have submitted a report to the authorities about the irregularities," Mishra added.

Reliable sources said that out of eight PACS, secretaries of Salijanga, Kaduapada, Odisso of Jagatsinghpur block and rest five from Naugaon, Biridi, Balikuda, Erasama and Raghunathpur blocks have been identified for violation of the paddy procurement clauses and agreement.

Assistant registrar of cooperatives societies, Jagatsinghpur, Siba Prasad Mohanty however, denied disclosing the names and panchayats of PACS secretaries though he acknowledged receiving the letter from the Registrar of Cooperative Societies to take action against defaulters. "The department has not yet received the list of defaulting PACS secretaries," Mohanty said.