JEYPORE: Over 3,000 farmers of Koraput district, who had sold their paddy in mandis 20 days back, are still waiting for their payment by the Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation. Sources said procurement for kharif paddy in the district has been going on since the last week of December, 2022. Around 41,064 farmers of the district had registered to sell their paddy through PACS.
As per procedure, the farmers get paid by OSCSC after selling their produce at the mandis within three to four days. The practice continued till January 9 and the farmers were paid without any delay. However, the dues of farmers who sold their produce after January 9 are yet to be cleared by the corporation.
“I had sold my paddy at the mandi 15 days back but am yet to get paid,” rued Raju Madala, a farmer of Ambaguda panchayat. The farmers who are yet to get paid have no money to buy seeds and fertiliser for upcoming rabi cultivation, said sources.
Interestingly, the local civil supplies office does not have access to data of farmers who are yet to be paid as the payment process is monitored by OSCSC head office at Bhubaneswar. Koraput district civil supplies officer PK Panda assured the farmers who had sold their produce after January 9 will be paid soon.