BHUBANESWAR: The BJD on Sunday strongly criticised the state government over the alleged widespread irregularities and delays in the kharif paddy registration process in Odisha, demanding that the deadline be extended by at least 20 days till September 20.
Addressing a media-conference here, former minister and BJD vice-president Sanjay Das Burma pointed out that kharif paddy registration process in the state began 18 days after the scheduled date.
Stating that 20 districts of the state had been severely affected by heavy rainfall and floods, he said the recurring floods for around three to five times this year, had caused extensive losses to the farmers. “More than 4.5 lakh farmers have been left out of the registration process so far,” he added.
Das Burma further questioned why the Odisha government was providing only one-month registration time for farmers in the state, when its Chattisgarh counterpart allowed four months for the same to its farmers.
The BJD leader alleged that from paddy registration to token-related mismanagement, mandi-related problems to miller-related issues and prolonged delays in payment of dues, farmers in the state were being forced to take to the streets on every front.
Das Burma also alleged that the app introduced by the government has resulted in lakhs of sharecroppers being excluded from the registration process, forcing them to suffer immense hardship.
“No changes have been made to the software to facilitate real-time e-KYC by the landowner through physical presence at the cooperative society. As a result, sharecroppers who have registered themselves on the portal are now worried about how they will be able to sell their paddy,” he added.
