Adilabad: The marketing department will issue barcoded identity cards containing farmers’ details for use in cotton purchases to control irregularities at the market yards.
Details of land, crops, bank account, pattadar pass book will be barcoded into the cards. Efforts are being made to start the commercial cotton purchases from September 27 in the district.
The government drew up plans to issue the barcoded ID cards following the reports of huge irregularities in cotton purchases last Kharif in Warangal, Karimnagar and Adilabad districts.
It was found that commission agents and owners of cotton ginning and pressing mills had purchased cotton at low prices from the farmers on benami names and sold it to the Cotton Corporation of India at higher prices.
The farmers, already facing distress, were deprived of even the minimum support price of Rs 4,050 announced by the Centre last Kharif.
Collector M. Jagan Mohan said the use of barcoded ID cards would prevent irregularities in cotton purchases at market yards. Minister Jogu Ramanna said nearly 56 lakh quintals of cotton had been purchased last
Kharif in the district. But the agriculture department figures showed that cotton crop was badly damaged due to drought conditions. Cotton yields were low and did not cross 35 lakh quintals.
Even the Adilabad marketing department claimed that its revenue in terms of taxes on cotton purchases had been increased, contradicting the agriculture department figures.
Nearly 21 lakh quintals of cotton was purchased from the farmers of bordering Maharashtra and other parts of the state at cheaper prices and sold to the CCI Adilabad branch, at the minimum support price of '4,050 by the middlemen.
