BARGARH: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Sunday kickstarted input subsidy disbursement of Rs 800 to farmers over and above the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 2,300, fulfilling another major election promise of the BJP here at Sohela.
Flanked by a host of ministers and legislators, Majhi hailed the day as historic for the state. “Especially for the farmers, this day will be etched in golden letters. Today, the government has reached out to provide appropriate price for your hard work,” he told a packed meeting at Icchapali in Sohela.
Recalling that the decision was taken in the first cabinet meeting of the BJP government on June 12, Majhi said, the input subsidy was one among the four important promises discussed and approved.
“To free farmers from exploitation by middlemen who were being protected by the previous regime, our government took the decision the very day it came to power in the state. And now within less than six months, the farmers are being disbursed the promised assistance,” he said. More than 21,500 farmers were handed out the input subsidy on the day. Taking a dig at the previous BJD government led by Naveen Patnaik who had announced a bonus of Rs 100 per quintal of paddy at Sohela itself in 2016, the CM said, the assurance made eight years back was a false one.
“Our government not only promised Rs 800 additional assistance but I also came to the same place to fulfill my word.” Majhi said.
He termed the BJD anti-farmer and said the BJP government is making paddy procurement transparent. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP government fulfilled four major promises - be it opening of all four gates of Srimandir, corpus fund of Rs 500 crores for the shrine, implementation of Subhadra Yojna as well as Rs 3,100 per quintal of paddy within six months,” he added.
Asserting that the BJP government is committed to the welfare and empowerment of farmers, the CM claimed the government has streamlined the paddy procurement process. CCTVs have been installed at RMCs and AI is being used to monitor the system. “Anyone caught exploiting the farmers will land in jail,” he said.
While procurement started on November 20, by Saturday, 21,500 farmers of Bargarh, Balangir, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Sambalpur have sold their paddy without any deduction or exploitation, he said. In Bargarh alone, more than 15,000 farmers have been provided more than Rs 200 crore towards MSP and Rs 70 crore as input subsidy.
Deputy chief minister and Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare minister Krushna Chandra Patra, Minister of Cooperatives Pradeep Bal Samanta, Bargarh MP Pradip Purohit, MLAs Ashwini Sarangi, Nihar Mahananda, Irashish Acharya, Sanat Garatia and Bargarh Collector Aditya Goel were present at the event.