Kumar Bahukhandi
The action taken is being viewed as a strong message to procurement staff across the state, amid efforts by the Chhattisgarh government to ensure fair prices for farmers and prevent leakage or manipulation in the system – Symbolic Photo (File )
31 Employees Suspended, FIR Filed Against Three, One’s Services Terminated
Raipur: Following irregularities in paddy procurement at the minimum support price during the Kharif marketing year 2025-26 in the state, action has been taken against 38 employees, including committee managers and other staff involved in paddy procurement.
This includes the suspension of 31 employees, termination of services for one, removal from service for two, removal from duty for one, and filing of FIRs against three employees. These actions have been taken in 12 districts of the state: Durg, Bemetara, Kabirdham, Bilaspur, Janjgir-Champa, Raigarh, Sakti, Jagdalpur, Raipur, Gariaband, Mahasamund, and Balodabazar-Bhatapara.
According to information received from the Food Department, action has been taken in 5 cases of stock shortage, 3 cases of excess stock and disorganized stacking, 4 cases of violation of policy guidelines, 5 cases of procurement of substandard paddy, 11 cases of irregularities in paddy procurement, 3 cases of paddy procurement on holidays, along with one case each of fraudulent procurement, irregularities, token irregularities, procurement without arrival slips, illegal collection, and mismanagement, and two cases of irregularities in gunny bag distribution.
In Durg district, following the physical verification of paddy procurement at the minimum support price, stock discrepancies were found, resulting in the suspension of Mr. Saurabh Yadav, Committee Manager of Jheet Paddy Procurement Center, Mr. Shekhar Singh Kashyap, Committee Manager of Godhi, Mr. Devdutt Patel, Committee In-charge of Khilorakala, Mr. Sevaram Patel, Committee In-charge of Kanharpur, Mr. Ishwar Kumar Sahu, Committee In-charge of Thengabhat, and Mr. Tikendra Kurre, Committee In-charge of Murmunda. Similarly, Mr. Romandas Vaishnav, Assistant Committee Manager of Selud, and Mr. Harishankar Sahu, a peon, have been suspended for acting against policy and violating guidelines. In Bemetara district, in the case of substandard paddy procurement, the in-charge assistant manager of Boratara paddy procurement center, Mr. Tikeshwar Nishad, the field in-charge (clerk) Mr. Kishan Janghel, the in-charge committee manager of Gadadi paddy procurement center, Mr. Bhuvneshwar Verma, and the field in-charge Mr. Gendlal Verma have been suspended. Meanwhile, in Mau, assistant committee manager Mr. Umesh Kumar Sahu has been suspended and an FIR has been registered against him in a case of fraudulent paddy procurement. In Kabirdham district, an FIR has been registered against Mr. Anil Bajpai, the committee manager of Kukdoor paddy procurement center, along with his suspension, due to a shortage found in the physical verification of the stock. Mr. Naresh Yadav, the in-charge of Chapora procurement center, has been suspended due to irregularities in gunny bag distribution.
In Bilaspur district, Mr. Tejiram, the in-charge of Pipertarai paddy procurement center, has been suspended for purchasing substandard paddy. An FIR has been registered against Mr. Kamiram Khunte, the in-charge of Eramsahi paddy procurement center, for a shortage of 920 sacks. In Janjgir-Champa district, Mr. Harihar Yadav (attendant), Mr. Amit Kumar Tiwari (computer operator), and Mr. Niranjan Sahu (watchman) of Bodsara paddy procurement center have been suspended for accepting paddy on a holiday. Mr. Chhavilal Mannewar, the computer operator of Kosmanda paddy procurement center, has been suspended due to irregularities in token issuance.
In Raigarh district, due to irregularities in paddy procurement, Mr. Teluram Sidar (assistant committee manager of Mukdega), Mr. Prahlad Behera (assistant committee manager of Kodsiya), Mr. Thandaram Behera (assistant committee manager of Chhal), and Mr. Kriparam Rathia (assistant committee manager of Jamargidih) have been suspended. In Sakti district, Mr. Eklavya Chandrakar, the in-charge of Kansa paddy procurement center, has been dismissed from service for purchasing paddy without proper receipt slips. In Jagdalpur district, Mr. Gautam Tiwari (in-charge committee manager of Kolchur) and Mr. Dinbandhu Panigrahi (in-charge committee manager of Retawand) have been suspended due to irregularities in paddy procurement. In Raipur district, Mr. Rakesh Jangde, a clerk-operator at Nardhara, has been dismissed from service for illegally extorting money from farmers.
In Gariaband district, Mr. Santosh Kumar Sahu of Loharsi and Mr. Gopi Ram Markam of Mainpur have been suspended, and Mr. Bhikham Markam of Shobha has been removed from service for negligence and irregularities in paddy procurement. In Mahasamund district, an FIR has been registered against Mr. Rohit Patel, in-charge of the procurement center at Pirda, and Mr. Budhivant Pradhan, in-charge of the procurement center at Singbahal, for irregularities in paddy procurement. Additionally, Mr. Nakul Sahu, in-charge of the procurement center at Toshgaon, has been suspended due to mismanagement in paddy procurement.
In Balodabazar-Bhatapara district, Satish Kumar Mahilang, the in-charge committee manager of the Sakri paddy procurement center, has been suspended for acting against policy, and Thaneshwari Sahu, the in-charge of gunny bags, has been removed from service for similar reasons. Rajkamal Sahu, the in-charge committee manager of Karamda, has been suspended due to a shortage in the paddy stock.
