Bhubaneswar, Dec 12: The first BJP government in Odisha, led by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, marked the completion of six months in office on Thursday.

On this occasion, CM Majhi conducted a review meeting here of the ongoing paddy procurement process in the State.

In a social media post, the Chief Minister said, “The formation of the new government marked the completion of six months today. On this occasion, I reviewed one of the major programmes of the State government-- paddy procurement with additional input assistance of Rs 800 (over and above the MSP of Rs 2,300 per quintal of paddy) to the farmers of the state. More than 17 lakh farmers of the State will benefit from this programme.”

The paddy procurement started in nine districts - Bargarh, Nuapada, Sambalpur, Kalahandi, Balangir, Jharsuguda, Nabarangpur, Subarnapur and Koraput. So far, as many as 37,079 farmers from these districts sold 1,81,196 metric tonnes of paddy. They were paid Rs 323.73 crore as the minimum support price and Rs 112.61 crore as input assistance, he added.  

In the meeting, the Chief Minister directed the concerned officials to conduct an error-free procurement of paddy from the farmers, and address farmers' grievances immediately.

CM Majhi also asked the officials to arrange canteens, drinking water and toilets facilities for farmers near the mandis across the State.

“Empowerment of farmers is the responsibility and goal of our government, and our government is working on this with priority,” the Chief Minister said.

Deputy CMs K V Singh Deo and Pravati Parida, Ministers, Secretaries of Departments concerned and DGP, among others, attended the review meeting.

Notably, the BJP formed the government in Odisha by securing 78 seats in the 147-member assembly and also swept the Lok Sabha elections by winning 20 of the 21 seats in the state in 2024 polls.

Among the highlights of Majhi government's first six months is the distribution of additional input assistance of Rs 800 over and above the MSP of Rs 2,300 per quintal of paddy to the farmers of the state, and implementation of the women-centric Subhadra Yojana, which aims to provide financial assistance of Rs 50,000 to over one crore women over five years.

Other fulfilled promises include the opening of the four gates of the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri and access to the Lord's Ratna Bhandar, the temple treasury.

Read More Odisha News