Food Supplies Minister Reviews Paddy Procurement and Welfare Programmes

Bhubaneswar: Minister for Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare, Krushna Chandra Patra, on Tuesday reviewed the ongoing activities and key programmes of the department at Lokseva Bhawan, with a special focus on paddy procurement and farmer welfare measures.

The review meeting was attended by Principal Secretary, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Department, Sanjay Kumar Singh, Managing Director of Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation (OSCSC), K. Sudarshan Chakravarthy, along with other senior officials.

At the outset, the Principal Secretary briefed the Minister on the department’s initiatives and progress during the ongoing kharif procurement season. Officials informed that around 10 lakh metric tonnes of paddy has been procured so far from nearly 2.28 lakh farmers across the state. As part of the procurement process, approximately ₹1,790 crore has already been transferred to farmers’ bank accounts as Minimum Support Price (MSP), while ₹552 crore has been disbursed as input assistance.

Emphasising the need to safeguard farmers’ interests, the Minister directed officials to expedite paddy procurement while strictly adhering to transparency norms. He also instructed the department to take appropriate action on allegations of irregularities, if any, to ensure a fair and smooth procurement process.

The meeting also reviewed plans to strengthen storage infrastructure in the state. Officials informed that the government has approved the construction of godowns with a capacity of 4 lakh metric tonnes (LMT), and a proposal for setting up an additional 6 LMT capacity godowns will be submitted soon, taking the total planned capacity to 10 LMT.

Discussions were also held on the evacuation of surplus rice generated from the procured paddy to the Food Corporation of India (FCI), ensuring efficient stock management and uninterrupted procurement operations.