RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh government on Thursday began the process of e-auction of surplus paddy after a record procurement of over 149 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) on the MSP in the kharif marketing year 2024-25.
The state has decided to auction 35 LMT of rice in the open market which the opposition Congress said could lead to a major loss to the state exchequer. The auction will continue till April 23, said officials of the State Cooperative Marketing Federation that executes paddy procurement.
Earlier, the BJP government had urged the Centre to increase the quantity of custom-milled rice from 70 LMT for the central pool The civil supplies corporation will procure 14.30 LMT rice under the state pool.
The state will sell the surplus after the custom milling in the open market by inviting tenders. CMVishnu Deo Sai said, “Paddy procurement remained a top priority of my government and the surplus paddy needs to be auctioned after the state supplied paddy to the central and state pools.”
Leader of opposition Charandas Mahant said, “Under the double-engine government, the Centre should consider taking the surplus rice from Chhattisgarh in the central pool. The auction process might lead to a financial loss of Rs 7,000 cr to the state. Such a burden on the fiscal health will be unfortunate.”
Auction of surplus paddy also rocked the Assembly during the budget session last month. The state has paid Rs 46,277 crore online directly into the bank accounts of farmers against paddy procurement at the rate of Rs 3,100 per quintal. The paddy procurement process began on November 14 last year and carried out through cooperative societies till January 31 this year.