Bhubaneswar, Jan 7 : Food Supply & Consumer Welfare Minister Sanjay Dasburma today urged the Union Food and Public Distribution Minister Ram Vilas Paswan to provide 90 per cent of the requirement to the State’s beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act in shape of rice.
Dasburma said the State government is likely to face problems to supply the food grains to the beneficiaries as the Centre has decided to provide 40 of the supply in shape of wheat under the scheme.
Dasburma requested the Union Minister during his meeting in New Delhi to reconsider the decision and provide 90 per cent rice to Odisha to meet the demand.
The Minister also demanded lifting of surplus rice at minimum support price, supplying adequate number of gunny bags, amendment of various payment structures during kharif season and distribution of subsidised rice to the students at tribal hostels managed by the State government.
Notably, State government is procuring paddy under decentralised paddy procurement system since 2002 for which the State government has signed a MoU.
As per the agreement the Centre is supposed to procure surplus rice of the state through Food Corporation of India.
However, the state is facing problem because the rice is not lifted as per the minimum support price. In this regard, Dasburma requested the Union Minister to direct FCI to lift the all the surplus rice of the state.
He also drew Centre’s attention towards the expenses such as hike in the wages of mandi labourers and other payments.
While nearly 4.9 lakh students are residing in the tribal hostels across the state, Centre is providing rice to only 62,795 beneficiaries at BPL prices.
The State government is providing the subsidized rice from its own funds to the remaining 4,25, 760 tribal students.
