BJP’s Paddy Procurement Failure in Odisha: BJD
- BJP’s promises on paddy procurement have turned into mockery
- Only 57% of the target paddy has been procured from just 49% of registered farmers
- Government is conspiring to discourage paddy cultivation in the state
Bhubaneswar, 09/02/2026:Regarding the alarming situation arising from paddy procurement in the state, after the former Chief Minister and President of the Biju Janata Dal, Shri Naveen Patnaik, wrote a letter to the Chief Minister of Odisha, Shri Mohan Majhi, expressing deep concern and urging immediate steps to resolve the issue, the BJD today strongly criticized the state government.
At a press conference held today at SankhaBhawan, former Minister and Party Vice President Shri Sanjay Kumar Das Burma, former Minister and Party Senior General Secretary Shri Rohit Pujari, and Party Spokesperson and Senior General Secretary Shri BhruguBaxipatra stated that the BJP government has failed to fulfil the promises made to farmers and has deeply disappointed the entire farming community of the state.
Shri Sanjay Kumar Das Burma said that in his letter to the Chief Minister, former Chief Minister and BJD President Shri Naveen Patnaik raised four major issues. During the last election, the BJP had promised that paddy would be procured at Rs. 3,100 per quintal along with MSP, that all paddy would be procured without any katni-chatni, and that payments would be made to farmers through DBT within 48 hours. Today, BJP’s promises have turned into deception.
Due to massive mismanagement in paddy procurement, the process has come to a standstill midway. While the target for Kharif paddy procurement was fixed at 73 lakh metric tonnes, only 41.96 lakh metric tonnes, just 57%, has been procured so far. Out of a total of 19,66,181 registered farmers in the state, only 9,65,546 farmers, i.e., merely 49%, have been able to sell their paddy till now.On the other hand, while the target in neighbouring Chhattisgarh was fixed at 80 lakh metric tonnes, procurement of 140 lakh metric tonnes of paddy has already been completed. When Odisha’s paddy procurement situation is compared with neighbouring Chhattisgarh, the pathetic condition of Odisha becomes clearly evident.Farmers in the state are today being forced to take to the streets. However, state ministers are insulting the farming community by making irresponsible remarks.
Shri Rohit Pujari said that deceiving people after making promises is an old habit of the BJP. The Prime Minister had promised to implement the Swaminathan Committee recommendations and to double farmers’ income, but neither promise has been fulfilled. In his letter, the former Chief Minister and BJD President not only expressed concern over the alarming situation created due to paddy procurement but also suggested concrete solutions to resolve the crisis.Special squads should be immediately deployed in mandis to stop illegal deductions, and exemplary action should be taken against guilty mill owners and government officials. The ceiling of a maximum of 150 quintals per farmer fixed for input subsidy should be withdrawn immediately, and all paddy should be procured from all registered farmers. As per BJP’s election promises, payment should be made to farmers through DBT within 48 hours of procurement. All paddy lying in the open in mandis should be lifted 100% within 72 hours.Therefore, Naveen Patnaik’s proposals and demands should be implemented immediately. If the issue is not resolved at once, the Biju Janata Dal will take to the streets.
Shri BhruguBaxipatra said that when the BJP was in the opposition, its leaders used to visit mandis, make various statements, and incite farmers against the government. But now, ministers and leaders are making derogatory comments and mocking the farming community. In reality, the BJP government is doing this with the intention of discouraging paddy cultivation.He cited a recent letter written by the Secretary of the Union Finance Ministry to the Kerala government, which restricts states from giving bonuses or input subsidies during paddy and wheat procurement. This letter clearly shows that the Central Government does not want to promote paddy cultivation. Possibly for this reason, the state government is demoralising Odisha’s farmers.However, paddy cultivation is the traditional agriculture of Odisha. For thousands of years, the farmers of Odisha have been cultivating paddy, Shri Baxipatra said.
