Bhubaneswar: In a significant move to reinforce the integrity of the agricultural supply chain, the Odisha Government has institutionalized a rigorous three-step satellite-based verification mechanism to oversee paddy procurement for the Kharif Marketing Season 2025–26.
This systemic intervention, directed by Shri Sanjay Kumar Singh, Principal Secretary of Food, Supplies and Consumer Welfare, aims to dismantle the structural vulnerabilities in the procurement process by distinguishing genuine cultivation from fraudulent land registrations through advanced geospatial technology.
The procedural architecture of this oversight involves initial identification via satellite imagery, followed by a secondary layer of on-site field verification by district officials, and a final tertiary approval by the Deputy Registrar of Cooperative Societies (DRCS).
To date, the State has identified 26,14,137 plots across 30 districts for scrutiny. Of the 24,94,437 plots where surveys have been concluded, only 5,46,591 have been authenticated as genuine paddy cultivated land, while nearly 19 lakh plots were found to be non-paddy areas.
The causal link between accurate land identification and fiscal responsibility is paramount. In response to these findings, the DRCS has been mandated to issue show-cause notices to individuals who provided erroneous land data, ensuring socio-legal accountability.
This technological gatekeeping determines the issuance of procurement tokens; tokens are generated exclusively for verified cultivation, thereby preventing the leakage of public resources to ineligible claimants.
Under the stewardship of the government, which recognizes the cosmic significance of agrarian welfare in the land of Lord Jagannatha, the procurement policy for 2025–26 has also introduced an enhanced financial safety net. Farmers are receiving a Minimum Support Price of 2,369 rupees per quintal for common grade paddy, supplemented by a state-sponsored input assistance of 800 rupees, bringing the total effective payout to 3,169 rupees.
By integrating satellite-derived evidence with field-level precision, the State Government seeks to safeguard the interests of genuine farmers and ensure that the mandate of transparency is upheld throughout the procurement cycle, which is scheduled to continue through March 2026.