The Hindu : Orissa bid to challenge HC order criticised

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 19, 2002

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Orissa bid to challenge HC order criticised

By Prafulla Das

BHUBANESWAR MAY 18 . The Orissa Government's decision to challenge in the Supreme Court the recent High Court order asking it to directly procure paddy from the farmers in Bolangir district has come under sharp criticism from all quarters.

A very large cross section of political leaders in the State has dubbed the Government's decision as "anti-farmer''. The decision to approach the apex court has exposed the Biju Janata Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party Government's "inefficiency'' to deal with the issue of distress sale of paddy in various pockets of the State, they have said.

The State Congress president, Sarat Patnaik, has said that the State Government was not procuring paddy from the farmers under pressure from the private rice mill owners.

Observing that the State Government had turned a blind eye towards the problems of the farmers, Mr. Patnaik warned that this attitude of the authorities will not be tolerated for long.

The Janata Dal(S) MLA, Ashok Das, has said that the Government was not able to go for direct procurement of paddy from the farmers due to lack of political will. The Government's stand would further aggravate the problem of distress sale of paddy.

Mr. Das urged the State Government to apprise the Centre about the distress sale of paddy and take necessary measures to help the farmers who were not able to sell their produce at the minimum support price.

As Orissa's paddy production was more than its requirement, the Centre should give funds instead of sending rice under different social welfare programmes, he said.

The Orissa Gana Parishad president, Bijay Mohapatra, has criticised the State Government's decision. It has proved that the Government was keen to protect the interests of the private mill owners rather than the farmers' interests, he has alleged.

Going a step further, the BJP MLA from Loisingha in Bolangir district, Balgopal Mishra, has accused certain Ministers in the State Government of being hand in glove with the ''exploitative'' rice-millers.

In its order passed on a public interest litigation, the High Court had asked both the State Government and the Food Corporation of India to directly procure paddy from the farmers in Bolangir in order to check distress sale.

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Orissa bid to challenge HC order criticised