According to officials, the state government had set a target of procuring 70 lakh ton paddy in 2023-2024. The deadline to achieve the target was February 29 and so far the government has procured only 34 lakh ton – around 49% of the targeted amount.
Minister-In-Charge of Food and Supplies Department Rathin Ghosh said, “We are trying to meet the shortage through procuring paddy from the houses of farmers. We are hoping good results and will get a clear picture by March-end.”
Officials said if the government fails to fulfil the target, it may impact ration distribution in the state after May. “Till last year, around 50 lakh farmers used to enrol for the government procurement programme. This year, around 16,19,000 farmers had enlisted for selling paddy to the government. However, only 10, 69, 000 farmers have sold paddy to the government by February,” said a government official.
“There are more than 1,400 rice mills in Bengal. Last year, only 650 rice mills had entered into an agreement with the state government (for paddy procurement). This year, that number has decreased to around 570,” they added.
According to food department officials, erratic rain is among the reasons which hampered paddy production in the state. “Another reason behind the low procurement was the ration distribution scam. Rice millers are shying away from the paddy procurement process,” said the official.
In October last year, former state minister and senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Jyoti Priya Mallick was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over alleged irregularities in the public distribution system (PDS) in the state. Mallick had held the food and civil supplies portfolio between 2011 and 2021. According to the central agency, Mallick used three shell companies to launder money made from the ‘scam’.
During a recent virtual meeting convened by the Principal Secretary of West Bengal Food and Supplies Department, districts were instructed to procure paddy from farmers. The minutes of the meeting stated, “The pace of paddy procurement is slow February onwards. Therefore, as per the direction of the higher authorities, joint initiative and efforts have to be made for registration of farmers, updating their details, identifying the villages and areas where paddy is available and farmers may be willing to sell, to undertake special drive with proper micro-planning and concerted efforts, make adequate publicity and awareness.”
“The agriculture department’s principal secretary also stated that though paddy was still available in some villages, the market price was a little higher. He advised district officials to talk to these farmers. He also said that close involvement and coordination between district officials, particularly, those of agriculture and food and supplies department is the need of the hour. Paddy production and paddy stocks with small and marginal farmers need to be identified with the help of the agriculture department,” said another official.