BHUBANESWAR: A day after BJD MPs slammed the Centre over non-lifting of parboiled rice from Odisha, the BJP on Saturday said the State government is responsible for the glut of excess stock.
Responding to the allegations of the ruling party MPs, BJP MP from Bargarh Suresh Pujari said the Food Corporation of India (FCI) has been telling the State government in clear terms about the quantity of parboiled rice it will lift in each Kharif and rabi marketing season.
The Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD), Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, has been informing from time to time about the low demand for parboiled rice in states other than Odisha, Bihar and West Bengal. “But the State has been insisting FCI to procure all of its parboiled rice.”
Pujari said there is a mismatch in the allotment of milling of raw and parboiled rice among the millers. Seven western Odisha districts with maximum milling capacity have been given lesser targets for parboiled rice while coastal districts were given more targets. As the rice mills of western Odisha are suited for milling boiled paddy, there is a glut of more parboiled rice stock. Since coastal belt of the State are consuming districts, the parboiled rice milled here are easily disposed off.
Pujari advised the BJD MPs to advise the State government to fix the milling target as per the capacity of each district and the consumption need of the State. State BJP Krushak Morcha president Pradip Purohit who also belong to Bargarh district, considered to be the rice bowl of the State, said the State government is lobbying for the rice millers who get maximum benefit from parboiled rice than raw rice.