KOCHI: Displeased over the non-invite to mill owners, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday postponed a high-level meeting scheduled in Kochi and attended by ministers and senior personnel, including from the civil supplies department.
The meeting, which had the mill owners’ demand to revise the out-turn ratio (OTR) of common rice as a key item for discussion, will now be held in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.
A senior official with the civil supplies department said the CM arrived at the Ernakulam Guest House, the meeting venue, around 9am. Ministers G R Anil, P Prasad, K N Balagopal and K Krishnankutty, besides senior officials were already there. “The CM asked whether mill owners were present. When he came to know only officials were invited, he expressed displeasure and decided to hold the meeting the next day in Thiruvananthapuram with the participation of mill owners,” said the official, preferring anonymity.
While officials cited a CMO directive for not inviting mill owners, they dismissed reports that Pinarayi walked out of the meeting. “Reports that the CM walked out of the meeting are baseless,” said the official, adding, “In fact, the CM himself had convened the meeting, involving ministers and senior officials.”
A source close to Minister Anil said, “One of the key items on the agenda was the mill owners’ demand to revise the OTR of common rice from the mandated 68% to 64.5%. Approving it would lead to additional annual loss of around `70 crore to the exchequer. A follow-up meeting with mill owners was originally scheduled for Wednesday, after discussions in this session.”
