Bhubaneswar: In a bid to make paddy procurement more people-friendly and transparent, Odisha Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain launched an Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) on Thursday.
While launching IVRS from the premises of the office of the Odisha State Civil Supplies corporation here the Minister stated that it has been done in conformity with 5T principles of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister Swain said, “Farmers can get all information pertaining to paddy procurement through the system using their registered mobile phone number. Beneficiaries can also lodge complaints regarding fake farmers and illegal hoarding of paddy by fake farmers through the IVRS mechanism round the clock.”
“On the call getting connected, farmers by dialing ‘5’ farmers can get to know the size of their land inspected, by dialing ‘6’ the farmer can know the quantity of paddy that can be sold, and by dialing ‘7’ the farmer can get details on payment for paddy sold,” Swain said.
“Paddy procurement through P-Pass and advanced token introduced by the Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Department has been appreciated by the farmers as a consequence of that five per cent more farmers have registered their names for selling paddy in the current Kharif season as compared to last Kharif season,” he informed.
“The department has always emphasized the use of advanced technology to make selling paddy and getting paid as per the fixed MSP is easier and hassle-free for farmers. Special squads from the department will make surprise visits to the files in order to trace out fake farmers and illegally registered paddy fields, Swain added,” Swain added.
