Paddy Procurement: Odisha Urges Centre to Release Pending Subsidy Claims

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Government today urged the Centre to release the pending subsidy claims for the smooth paddy procurement in the State.

In a letter to Union Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Piyush Goyal, State Food Supplies & Consumer Welfare Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain said that the Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation (OSCSC), the agency which performs paddy procurement, has pending subsidy claims towards provisional and advance subsidy totaling Rs. 6039 crore. The pending subsidy should be released urgently to ensure smooth paddy procurement in State, the Odisha Minister stated.

OSCSC has so far borrowed a staggering sum of Rs. 15,000 crore to run the programme by way of upfront investment. This high volume of bank loan is mainly due to non release of subsidy by Department of Food and Public Distribution. OSCSC has pending subsidy claims towards provisional and advance subsidy totaling Rs. 6039 crore. Since all resources including sanctioned limit of bank finances has been exhausted by OSCSC further paddy procurement from farmers may be severely affected. The pending subsidy, therefore, may be released urgently, the letter reads.

Swain also expressed his concern over the Food Corporation of India’s intimation to limit the delivery of surplus parboiled rice of our State to the extent of 50% of last year FCI delivery and not to accept any surplus in the form of parboiled rice during Rabi season of the current KMS 2020-21.