Odisha mulls 12 lakh tonne surplus rice sale through tender if need arises, says Min Patra
The Odisha government told the Assembly it expects a surplus of 12 lakh tonnes of rice after meeting state needs under PDS and welfare schemes. With no response from FCI on lifting the stock, the state may sell surplus rice via tender. New warehouses are being built for storage.
BHUBANESWAR: The state government on Wednesday informed the Assembly it was contemplating to sell surplus rice procured under the minimum support price (MSP) through tender process in case the extra stock was not lifted by the Food Corporation of India (FCI).
Replying to a question from BJD MLA Pratap Keshari Deb, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare minister Krushna Chandra Patra said the state will have a surplus rice stock of 12 lakh tonne after meeting internal consumption under public distribution system, supplementary nutrition programmes and additional rice supply in 11 tribal-dominated districts.
The state government has requested the central government to lift the surplus rice but there is no response yet. To manage the surplus, the government has begun the process of constructing new warehouses with a capacity of 10 lakh metric tonne to store the rice safely, he said.
“We are waiting for a positive response from the FCI to our request. We are also exploring the option of disposing of the surplus rice through tender process in the event of non-lifting of the rice by the FCI,” the minister said.
Patra added that the state government procured 73.45 lakh tonne kharif paddy against a target of 75.74 lakh tonne and 19.21 lakh tonne rabi paddy as against a target of 20 lakh tonne, taking the total procurement in 2024-25 kharif marketing season to 92.64 lakh tonne which is equivalent to 63 lakh tonne of rice. Requirement under PDS distribution is about 24 lakh tonne.
He further informed the House that the state government has not received a staggering Rs 8,000 crore from the Centre towards food subsidy bill.
The minister had taken up the issue of lifting the surplus with Union minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi during his visit to Delhi in July. This was followed by a letter from CM Mohan Charan Majhi to Joshi highlighting the problem faced by the state to store the custom milled rice.
Deputy CM KV Singh Deo, accompanied by several MPs from the state, had also met Joshi in Delhi over the same issue.
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Source : The New Indian Express
