Odisha Deputy CM Urges Centre to Expedite Surplus Rice Evacuation

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo met Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi in New Delhi today to press for expedited evacuation of surplus rice from the state by the Food Corporation of India (FCI). The Deputy CM was accompanied by several Members of Parliament from Odisha.

During the meeting, Singh Deo raised concerns over the slow pace of surplus rice evacuation, which is affecting the state’s ongoing procurement operations. He highlighted that Odisha has achieved a record-breaking procurement of 92.64 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of paddy under the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2024-25. This translates to 62.62 lakh MT of rice—the highest ever procurement in the state’s history.

After meeting the state’s own consumption needs for both Kharif and Rabi seasons, Odisha will have a surplus of approximately 12 lakh MT of rice that must be lifted by FCI. However, the delay in evacuation is creating a bottleneck for further procurement.

Singh Deo requested Union Minister Joshi to intervene and accelerate the evacuation process. He also noted that Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had already written to the Union Minister on the same issue, underlining its urgency and potential impact on procurement efficiency.

Union Minister Joshi assured that the matter would be addressed promptly and necessary steps would be taken to resolve the bottleneck.

Present at the meeting were MPs Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo, Malvika Devi, Pratap Sarangi, Bhartruhari Mahtab, Pradeep Purohit, Sukanta Panigrahi, Anita Subhadarshini, Ananta Charan Nayak, Bibhubhushan Prasad Tarai, and Dr. Rabindra Narayan Behera, along with Union Secretary for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Sanjeev Chopra.