(a) the details of the complaints received regarding irregularities/corruption in procurement of paddy across the country especially in Bihar and West Bengal;
(b) the reasons for these irregularities; and
(c) the corrective steps taken/being taken by the Government in this regard?
A N S W E R
MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
(SADHVI NIRANJAN JYOTI)
(a): Complaints received by Food Corporation of India during the Kharif Marketing Season 2021-22 including Bihar and West Bengal are as under:
No. of complaints across the country (excluding the State of Bihar and West Bengal) No. of complaints of Bihar No. of complaints of West Bengal Total complaints
2 0 1 3
(b): The main allegations are regarding irregularities in operations of procurement centres, purchase of paddy by millers instead of government, poor management of government purchase centres, fake purchase and storage of paddy/rice stock in millers permises.
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(c): The complaints related to paddy procurement are investigated and action taken in accordance with prescribed procedure in this regard. Further, the following initiatives/measures have been taken by the Government in streamlining the Procurement Operations:
i) The Minimum Support Price (MSP) is announced by the Government of India at the beginning of sowing season of crops. Central and State Government Agencies procure the crops at MSP. This enables the farmer to take informed decisions with regard to the choice of crop to be grown.
ii) Farmers are made aware of the quality specifications and purchase system etc., to facilitate them to bring their produce conforming to the specifications.
iii) Large number of Procurement centres are opened by respective State Government Agencies/ Food Corporation of India (FCI) taking into account the production, marketable surplus, convenience of farmers and availability of other logistics/infrastructure such as storage and transportation etc.
iv) Government has implemented Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) System in which payment is made directly to the farmers’ bank account. This eliminates fictitious farmers, diversion and duplication of payment and has brought in responsibility, transparency and real time monitoring.
v) FCI and most of the state governments have developed their own Online Procurement Systems and these modules ensure that the farmers get the latest/updated information regarding MSP declared, nearest purchase centre, date of procurement etc. This has reduced the waiting period for delivery of stock by the farmers and enables the farmer to deliver stock as per his convenience in the nearest mandi/Procurement Centre.
vi) Government has introduced Minimum Threshold Parameters (MTPs), integrating all such state procurement portals with a central portal, towards developing an application eco-system, wherein requisite information regarding procurement is available at a single source, for monitoring and strategic decision making and to ensure uniformity and transparency.
vii) MTP involves online registration of farmers with Aadhar seeding, integration of land records, digitized mandi operations, auto-generation of bills etc, and these features help in eliminating middlemen from the process of procurement and better targeting of MSP to the farmers.
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