Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, the Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, has emphasized the need to streamline and increase the transparency of the paddy procurement process. To make sure the paddy procurement process is open and free from corruption, a third-party audit will be carried out. Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari, Food Supply and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra, Commerce and Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhushan Jena, Cooperation Minister Pradeep Bal Samant, Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja, Principal Secretaries, and Commissioner-cum-Secretaries from other pertinent departments attended a meeting on procurement preparations on Monday at Lok Seva Bhavan’s conference hall, which was chaired by Singh Deo, according to an official press release.
It was determined to carry out a third-party audit in order to guarantee openness and rid the paddy procurement procedure of wrongdoing. For information or to report any problems they are having, farmers can contact the toll-free number 1967. The Civil Supplies Corporation has established a contact center this year with 30 extra seats. For the transportation of rice from mandis to mills, a notice of tender has been released. Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) initiatives will be used to educate farmers, and each mandi and fair-price store will have paddy purchase standards posted. Within the following two to three days, farmers will also get helpful tips via SMS.
Strict measures against offenders are planned, and the inspection system will be reinforced to remove intermediaries from the paddy purchase process. Procurement at the village and district levels will be closely observed by district-level procurement committees. The problems and needs of the millers participating in the process were also discussed at the conference.
