FCI carries burden of welfare plans

Govt yet to pay Rs 18,000 cr

The ministries of rural development and human resource development together owe nearly Rs 18,000 crore to the Food Corporation of India (FCI).

They have not paid their bills for foodgrain lifted for welfare schemes, like Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojna (SGRY) and the mid-day meal scheme.

Of this, the dues of the rural development ministry alone were Rs 17,396 crore on April 1, 2005. The FCI was paying an interest of Rs 1,346 crore on these dues, sources said.

Although the food ministry has taken up this issue with the concerned ministries and the finance ministry, no solution is in sight.

The ministry now proposes to bring the matter before the Cabinet, the sources indicated. These dues have steadily been mounting, as the grain requirement for the welfare schemes has risen.

From around Rs 1,000 crore in 2001, the arrears rose to Rs 9,142 crore by April 2004, and further to a whopping Rs 17,396 crore in April 2005.

The rural development ministry paid only Rs 600 crore to FCI in 2004-05. This included Rs 300 crore each for the grain lifted for the SGRY, and its special component.

This still left the unpaid liability of Rs 5,111 crore under the SGRY, and Rs 6,900 crore under its special component.

The parliamentary standing committee on food and public distribution had, in its report submitted in August last year, expressed concern over the mounting dues, and had called for a fixed time-frame for clearing these arrears.

It had also recommended penal interest for the defaulting ministries. While the human resource development ministry agreed to clear all arrears by the end of fiscal 2005-06, the rural development ministry cited paucity of funds as the reason for its inability to clear FCI's bills.

It informed the standing committee that the Planning Commission and the finance ministry had refused its request for allocating additional funds for paying FCI.

But the ministry has turned down the proposal for levying of penal interest on the outstanding amount, saying the guidelines of the SGRY do not permit payment of such interest against pending bills.

The parliamentary panel has expressed shock at the non-payment of dues by central ministries.

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Dues keep rising

Dues of the rural development ministry alone stand at Rs 17,396 crore

The FCI is paying an interest of Rs 1,346 crore on these dues

Dues have steadily been mounting over the years as the grain offtake for the welfare schemes has been going up

From around Rs 1,000 crore in 2001, the arrears rose to Rs 9,142 crore in April 2004, and have risen further to a whopping Rs 17,396 crore in April 2005

The rural development ministry has paid only Rs 600 crore to the FCI during 2004-05