Zero refusal and regular calibration of the weighing machines at the procurement centres are two new mantras, the chief minister has set for a sustained growth in paddy procurement from the farmers and for that she’s mounted pressure on the senior state officials with the agriculture and agri-marketing and food and supply departments over a month.

Bengal currently procured 51 lakh MT paddy from the farmers against Rs 1,980 MSP (minimum support price) per quintal. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee seems to be quite perturbed with the successive cases of denial to the farmers at the centres out ‘lame excuses’ or deprivation to them by giving lesser value of crop resulted by the ‘faulty’ weighing machines.

On last 31 May, the chief minister at her administrative review meeting in Bankura had lambasted against the ‘faulty’ paddy procurement process in the district. She had stated: “I’ve received 34 written complaints and some of them are really shocking. How can you deny paddy from an elderly farmer like Aswini Pujara of 75 years from Pairachali village. He’d to visit your procurement centre twice on his bicycle. Still, he couldn’t sell 30 quintals of paddy? He’d to surrender to the middlemen selling 10 quintals of his crop at the rate of Rs 1,100 per quintal, though we’re offering Rs 1,980 per quintal? I suspect, some of you are trying to facilitate the middlemen.” She’d also raised the issue of the faulty weighing system at the procurement centres citing the examples of some farmers of Bankadaha in Bishnupur who’d caught that the weighing machines at the procurement centres were reading lesser weight by three quintals of their crop against their actual weight of 34 quintals.

Yesterday, at her administrative review meeting in Durgapur, the CM further referred to the perennial crisis in the procurement centres and stated that in eight paddy-growing districts, Bengal has recorded deficit. She inquired about remedy for paddy getting ‘lesser weight’ after being taken to the procurement centres. State’s chief secretary HK Dwivedi said: “We’ve already ordered regular calibration of the weighing machines at the procurement centres instead of earlier annual calibration.” The CM then ordered MV Rao, advisor of the agri-marketing department to visit the procurement centres. After the CM insisted for paddy collection by mobile vans from the villages, Dwivedi said: “We’re set to float 1,600 new central procurement centres across the state to address the crisis.”