BHUBANESWAR: The State Government on Wednesday reiterated its demand for immediate release of pending food subsidy bill amounting Rs 3,406 crore to lessen the financial burden of the State agencies to continue paddy procurement that is going on in full swing.
Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain met Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan in his Parliament office and requested him to look into the issue.
Handing over a letter to Paswan, Swain said paddy subsidy bill amounting to Rs 3,406 crore (which includes the advance subsidy up to December) is pending with Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD).
The Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation (OSCSC), the nodal agency for procurement of paddy under decentralised procurement system, has an outstanding liability of Rs 2,066 crore as receivable on the Food Corporation of India (FCI) for 2019-20 financial year.
Besides, advance subsidy due for the quarter ending December 31, 2019 is Rs 1,340 crore, the letter said. “The delay in release of funds despite timely submission of the fund utilisation certificate to FCI has resulted in increasing bank borrowing and interest burden on the OSCSC,” Swain said and urged Paswan to direct FCI to bear the interest burden of the State public sector undertaking.
Recalling the October 3, 2015 memorandum of understanding between State Government and DFPD for decentralised procurement, Swain said there lies a mechanism for zero financial liability on the procuring agencies with regard to permissible items of cost to be borne by the Centre.
It is mandatory as per the agreed terms and conditions that the anticipated cost will be released in the form of advance subsidy (90 per cent of admissible claims) on quarterly basis in the first of month of every quarter. “However, the release of advance and provisional subsidy to Odisha is irregular and un-patterned, despite the State furnishing utilisation certificates in time,” Swain said.
The cost pertaining to the entire operations consist of minimum support price, taxes as payable and other incidental expenditure incurred in acquisition and distribution, the letter said.
Noting that the State on an average required 24 lakh tonnes of rice for different food schemes, the Minister said FCI had procured surplus rice of 17.84 lakh tonnes from Odisha in 2018-19 kharif marketing season (KMS).
With a bumper harvest of paddy in the current KMS, Swain said the State is expected procure record quantity of paddy. He said one-time clearance of outstanding dues will ensure smooth procurement and farmers will be benefited the most.