The government has again approved the kacha arhati system in Uttarakhand, under which kacha arhatis or commission agents procure paddy from farmers on behalf of the government. The government had promised to review and remove the kacha arhati system after a Rs. 600-crore rice scam hit the state last year. Farmers suspect role of rice millers behind the continuation of the kacha arhati system. Purushottam Sharma, the general Secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Kissan Mahasabha, said that the commission agents exploit the farmers. We have been demanding that the government should directly buy produce from the farmers, which would reduce corruption. There were talks that the farmers would dry their produce at the mandis and sell them directly, but the government is promoting commission agents for benefitting the rice millers and commission agents.