JEYPORE: Farmers of Jeypore have alleged discrepancies in data collected through a satellite survey being conducted on their land to ascertain areas under paddy cultivation. With paddy fields reportedly showing as forest land, some farmers have been left out of the procurement process.
The survey is being jointly undertaken by Agriculture and Revenue and Disaster Management department. Sources said as per the survey, as of now after weeding out 2,000 fake farmers in the Koraput district, 41,162 have been allowed by the administration to sell their produce at mandis for the ensuing kharif season. The farmers rued that as per the survey data, some of their land was shown as forest land.
On Monday, the team surveyed 44 paddy fields in Badakudi village under the Dhanpur panchayat of Jeypore block. As per the data, no cultivation was recorded in the village. “I had cultivated paddy on three-acre land in the village but the satellite data does not reflect it and due to this, my name has been removed from the procurement process,” rued Suman Mishra, a local.
Such complaints are pouring in from other parts of Jeypore too. “The satellite data shows trees near the paddy fields in many cases,” said Jeypore MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati, adding he would take up the matter with the government. Meanwhile, the deputy registrar of cooperative societies of Jeypore, Bhabani Prasad who has directed LAMPS staff to conduct a fresh satellite survey of cropland, said there is no possibility of any discrepancies in the survey data.