 "Paddy custom milling delay disrupts rice delivery in Chhattisgarh")
The delay in paddy custom milling in Chhattisgarh has disrupted rice delivery to the central and state pools.
Chhattisgarh has registered a record paddy procurement in the kharif marketing season (KMS) of 2023-24. The input subsidy on paddy, which enables farmers to receive Rs 3,100 per quintal with bumper yields, is reported to be the reason for this heavy flow.
Before the November 2023 Assembly elections, the BJP announced paying Rs 3,100 per quintal to paddy farmers. It came to power on December 13, and the government issued the input subsidy notice on December 21 for paddy procurement at minimum support price (MSP). As against the target of 13 million tonnes (mt), farmers have sold 14.9 mt of paddy to the state in the KMS 2023-24.
Chhattisgarh amended its policy and facilitated the rice millers to directly lift paddy from procurement centres for custom milling. The move was aimed at clearing the space after yield arrival. Currently, more than 13.5 mt of paddy has been lifted by the Centre and efforts are on to transport the remaining for custom milling.
“The proportion with which the paddy was lifted could not be maintained in the delivery of custom-milled rice (CMR),” a senior official in the Chhattisgarh civil supplies corporation said. About 39 per cent of CMR have been delivered against the target set for the current procurement season, he added.
After Punjab, Chhattisgarh is the largest rice contributor to the current season's central pool.
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“The delay is not on the part of rice millers,” said one of the mill owners. The FCI and the corporation are facing a shortage of space that has delayed the delivery of rice, he said. The government agencies are battling for space as the Indian Railways is allegedly not providing sufficient rakes to clear the existing rice stock.
The spokesperson of South East Central Railways (SECR) and FCI refused to respond.
The Centre has set a target to procure 9.7 mt of rice in Chhattisgarh for the central and state pools. The CMR has to be delivered to the central agency Food Corporation of India (FCI) and civil supplies corporation. According to officials, only 4.0 mt of CMR has been delivered by now.