BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday approved a steep hike in rice milling charges to ensure smooth procurement of paddy from farmers across the state.
The milling charge for parboiled rice was doubled from Rs 20 per quintal to Rs 40 per quintal. Similarly, the milling charge for raw rice was increased from Rs 10 per quintal to Rs 20 per quintal.
The chief minister said the hike will resolve problems of millers, enable smooth paddy procurement from farmers and strengthen the state’s food security system.
Officials said in the recent years, labour wages and fuel prices along with costs of other milling inputs have gone up significantly. Despite this, milling rates in the state had remained unchanged. Other states have much higher milling rates compared to Odisha. The revision will resolve the long-pending demands from rice millers as the old rates were unviable due to rising operational costs. The revised rates will be implemented with immediate effect amid the ongoing procurement season, they said.