Cuttack, Feb. 10: The Naveen Patnaik government’s bid to bring in licence raj over purchase and sale of agricultural produces in the areas of regulated market committees (RMCs) has received a temporary setback with Orissa High Court putting an embargo on it.

The state government had decided to regulate purchase and sale of agricultural produces in the market areas of the 57 RMCs across the state by invoking the Orissa Agricultural Produce Market Act, 1956.

Accordingly, the state co-operation department had in September last year issued a draft notification declaring its intention of regulating in the market areas of RMCs purchase and sale of fibres, cereals, pulses, oil seeds, tobacco, condiments and spices, sugarcane and jaggery, animal husbandry products, fish, grass, fodder and other minor forest products. The Rule 60 of the draft notification says obtaining licences by traders who buy directly from the producers and sell them in the declared market area.

The court issued the interim restriction in response to a petition filed by the Federation of All Orissa Traders Association (Faota) challenging the draft notification. Later, a miscellaneous petition was filed seeking judicial intervention against illegal coercion of traders to obtain licences.

Faota general secretary B.M. Mohanty today said: “The high court issued notices to the secretary agriculture and co-operation and secretary-cum-director of the Orissa State Agriculture Marketing Board.”