The Bengal government might face hurdles in achieving the procurement target of 65 lakh tonnes of paddy directly from farmers in the kharif (monsoon) season after the arrest of Bakibur Rahman, the rice mill owner with alleged links to then food and supplies minister Jyoti Priya Mallick.

The government depends heavily on rice mills for procurement.

Mallick was arrested on October 27 by the ED, a few days after Bakibur’s arrest.

“The state government has engaged 541 rice mills across the state to buy paddy on behalf of the government from farmers in the 2023-24 procurement season in addition to 534 centralised procurement centres, 771 self-help groups and 454 primary agricultural cooperative societies. Now, if rice mills become shaky after the arrest of a rice mill owner on charges of corruption, it will be difficult for the state to achieve the target,” said a senior bureaucrat.

The active participation of rice mills in the procurement process is vital for the state government to achieve its target, as rice mills often go the extra mile to buy paddy from the farmers.

“Many rice mills are located in places where no other procurement centre is located. So, these mills become the only hope for farmers in remote areas to get minimum support price,” said a senior official.

“If the government faced financial crunch to pay farmers for their produce, rice mill owners came forward to shoulder the burden. The government pays the dues to the mills later on. This ensures that the procurement process does not stop,” said a source.

The rice mills also reach out to the farmers to encourage them to sell their produce to the government to secure MSP if the government machinery fails to reach out.

However, Bakibur’s arrest by the ED on charges of irregularities in food grain distribution through ration shops has apparently made many rice mill owners wary about “doing business” with the government.

A functionary of the rice mills association in East Burdwan said many of their members had already expressed unwillingness to buy paddy on behalf of the government this year. "They fear harassment," he said.

The state government's target of 90 per cent procurement of paddy from farmers in the kharif season to reach out to the maximum number of farmers with MSP ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls appears tough, said a source.