BHUBANESWAR: Even as procurement of rabi paddy for the kharif marketing season 2022-23 has started from May 1, the Centre is yet to release the state’s pending food subsidy bill amounting to Rs 14,249 crore. Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation (OSCSC), the nodal agency of the state for purchase of surplus paddy under a decentralised procurement system, is under severe financial stress due to heavy market borrowing to meet the operational costs including payment of minimum support price to farmers. “The corporation has not received a single penny out of the pending food subsidy bill till date,” said OSCSC managing director Shubham Saxena.
The corporation had borrowed over Rs 24,000 crore and has a huge pending receipt of Rs 11,835 crore from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution towards advance and provisional subsidy till February, sources said. The outstanding towards food subsidy remains unpaid despite repeated requests from the state government to the ministry. Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak had written to Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal in February requesting immediate release of the food subsidy claim of the state in view of the financial crunch faced by OSCSC and maximum credit exposure to lending institutions.
Of the total outstanding of Rs 14,249 crore till the end of February, Rs 5,027.36 crore was provisional subsidy claim up to third quarter of last financial year and Rs 1,469.78 crore unpaid advance subsidy bill for fourth quarter of 2022-23. The Odisha government has paid Rs 6,200 crore interest and it is an additional burden on the state, sources in the corporation said.
Nayak said the delay and short release of subsidy has put the state PSU in tremendous financial hardship. Since the resources of the corporation including sanctioned limit of bank finance have already been exhausted, the corporation is facing immense difficulties to arrange funds for procurement of rabi paddy.
As per the MoU with Food Corporation of India (FCI) there should be zero financial liability on procurement agencies.
Subsidy woes
OSCSC had borrowed over Rs 24,000 crore
The corporation has pending receipt of Rs 11,385 from Centre
Rs 5,027.36 crore provisional claim up to third quarter of last fiscal