Bhubaneswar, Nov 19: The process of paddy procurement by the State government will begin in Bargarh district tomorrow and Sambalpur on November 22.

Paddy procurement decision was finalized at a ministerial-level meeting held at the State Secretariat in Bhubaneswar about a fortnight back. 

As promised earlier by the Odisha government, paddy will be procured at Rs 3100 per quintal from farmers. The procurement amount included Rs 2300 as the minimum support price (MSP) as fixed by the Centre and Rs 800 as input subsidy assured by the State Government.

Government officials will be present at Mandis till the completion of the procurement process. One supervisor will be appointed for each four-to-five Mandis. Each Mandi will have a quality testing machine to assess quality fairly. 

The Transport Department will inspect the paddy transportation from Mandis to rice mills.
Patrolling teams will be engaged and CCTV cameras will be fixed at strategic places to ensure that paddy is not transported from neighbouring States for sale at Mandis at a higher price. District Collectors have been asked to take appropriate steps.

The State government will focus on the safety of farmers and the procurement of paddy without any deduction.