Bargarh (Odisha) – A massive convention of the All Odisha Rice Millers’ Association, Bhubaneswar, was held at Hotel Anurag Inn in Bargarh, bringing together 1,031 rice millers from all 30 districts of Odisha. The meeting, which began at 11 a.m., witnessed a united voice from millers across the state highlighting the numerous challenges they face in paddy procurement, payment delays, and government apathy toward their long-pending issues.
The millers recalled that before the commencement of Rabi paddy procurement for the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2024–25, the state government had promised to increase the milling rate by November 2024. However, despite the passage of nearly a year, the commitment remains unfulfilled, leading to widespread dissatisfaction among millers.
The association pointed out that millers had worked tirelessly round the clock to help the government procure 96 lakh metric tonnes of paddy—an increase of 25% compared to the previous year—benefiting lakhs of farmers. Yet, nearly 30% of the rice remains stuck in mills, either as rice or paddy, deteriorating in quality due to lack of collection by the government. The millers have now decided that from the upcoming KMS, they will lift paddy only against 100% security, as there is no clear policy or execution plan for receiving Custom Milled Rice (CMR).
The millers also alleged that while they have followed all instructions from district offices in lifting and delivering paddy and rice, their payments are being unjustly withheld by OSCSC Ltd under the name of MMDF. They further expressed resentment over the stagnation of transportation rates for years, stating that they would henceforth limit their role strictly to rice milling and abstain from ancillary duties unless the issues are resolved.
Odisha has around 700 small raw millers whose sustainability depends heavily on the rice out-turn ratio. These millers had been receiving a 1% driage allowance for decades, but this year, it was arbitrarily reduced to 0.074%, which they termed as complete injustice. The millers have resolved not to participate in the paddy procurement process for KMS 2025–26 unless their 1% driage entitlement is reinstated.
Adding to their woes, millers said that although they have acted as joint custodians by storing paddy purchased by the government, their pending bills for custody and maintenance since KMS 2023–24 remain unpaid. Despite repeated assurances from the government and OSCSC Ltd, no action has been taken. Hence, the association declared that they would not extend their godowns for government paddy storage in the future and would undertake lifting of paddy only upon full security.
Addressing the press conference, State President Mahesh Bansal stated that millers across Odisha would boycott the upcoming paddy procurement if the government fails to lift the rice from their godowns and clear dues pending for over two years. He added that millers are facing an acute space crisis as both Kharif and Rabi paddy stocks are still lying unsold, while the next Kharif season’s harvesting is about to begin. “Where will the millers buy and store new paddy if the old stock remains uncleared?” he asked, expressing concern that the government’s delay could paralyze the entire procurement system.
Bansal informed that the government has so far collected rice equivalent to only 40% of the previous Kharif season’s paddy, leaving 60% of Kharif stock and the entire Rabi stock piled up in mills. Unless immediate steps are taken to lift the grain from warehouses, the association warned that no miller in Odisha would participate in paddy procurement this year.
The press conference was attended by several prominent members of the association, including State Vice President Nitesh Bansal, Santosh Agrawal, Deepak Ranjan Dash, and Jay Prakash Lath. The grand convention saw the participation of more than 500 millers representing 30 districts of Odisha, marking one of the largest gatherings of rice millers in recent times.
