Keeping in view the low level of farm mechanization in Orissa, the state chief minister Naveen Patnaik has requested the Centre to give a special grant of Rs 100 crore for making available farm machineries to the farmers at subsidized rates.
The demand was made by Patnaik at the Conference of Chief Ministers on Price Rise convened by the Prime Minister in New Delhi on Saturday.
Patnaik also called for inclusion of the remaining districts of the state under the National Horticulture Mission and covering an additional two lakh hectares of land under the Watershed Development Programme.
He squarely blamed the Centre for the spiraling prices of essential commodities and said, “huge fluctuations in commodity prices are due to macro economic factors and thus measures need to be taken primarily at the national level”.
Patnaik underscored the need for efforts to achieve self-sufficiency in cereals, pulses, oil seeds and sugar to reduce the country's dependence on imports.
On abnormal sugar prices, he said, “the Central government's intervention is needed to address the issue of demand and supply mismatch to stabilize prices.”
Due to the difference in market prices of sugar and levy sugar provided to BPL (Below Poverty Line) families, he suggested that the entire quantity allocated under levy sugar should be made available to the states and allocation should also be made to the states for APL (Above Poverty Line) families at subsidized rates.
He informed that the state is taking enforcement measures to check malpractices in the Public Distribution System (PDS) and stated that Orissa is one of the very few states where detentions have been made under the Prevention of Black Marketing and Maintenance of Supply of Essential Commodities Act.
Patnaik requested the Centre to increase the subsidy for pulses and link it up to the value of their market prices. The Central public sector undertakings importing pulses should maintain stocks and provide pulses according to the state's demands without any time lag between order and supply, he added.
He suggested that the Food Corporation of India (FCI) should play a major supportive role in terms of paddy procurement by allowing utilization of its storage space and ensuring timely movement of surplus outside the state as per the requirement.
