CM reiterates demand for procurement of 40 LMT rice in FCI to Union Minister

Raipur, Feb 26: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel today met Union Food and Public Distribution Minister Piyush Goyal and reiterated his demand of increasing the permitted amount of 24 lakh metric tonnes of rice to be procured under the central pool in FCI to 40 lakh metric tonnes in the Kharif marketing year 2020-21. He also requested the Union minister to reimburse pending food subsidies for the year 2019-20 and 2020-21 of Rs 5214.97 crore.
Union Minister assured the chief minister of reimbursing food subsidies worth Rs 4832 crore. Chhattisgarh Agriculture Minister Ravindra Choubey and Food Minister Amarjeet Bhagat also accompanied the chief minister during the meeting here.
The chief minister also said that in the interest of farmers of Chhattisgarh, the Centre should give permission for procurement of 40 lakh metric tonnes of rice in the Food Corporation of India at the earliest as 92 lakh metric tonnes of paddy have been procured from 20.53 lakh farmers on the support price in Chhattisgarh in the Kharif marketing year 2020-21, as on 31 January 2021, under the decentralized procurement scheme.
Baghel emphasized that in the meeting of the Food Secretaries of the Government of India for the Kharif Marketing Year 2020-21 in-principle consent was given for taking 60 lakh metric tonnes of rice to the central pool for Chhattisgarh, due to which it is possible to resolve about 89 lakh metric tonns of paddy currently acquired.
He maintained that the Food Department has been allowed by the Government of India to take only 24 lakh metric tonnes of rice (16 lakh metric tons of usna and 8 lakh metric tons of arva) under the central pool in the Food Corporation of India in the Kharif year 2020-21. The state’s PDS will require 20 lakh metric tons of rice and in addition to this, the stock of 3 lakh metric tons of rice will be kept by the Civil Supplies Corporation. In this way, it will be possible to dispose of 70.50 lakh metric tonnes of paddy from 47 lakh metric tonnes of rice which is being acquired.
Secretary to the Chief Minister Siddharth Komal Pardesi and Chhattisgarh Food and Civil Supplies Secretary Kamalpreet Singh were also present in the meeting.