States blame centre for low grain offtake

Say charges for allocating grains to them too high.

As pressure mounts on states to lift grain allocated under various schemes, major food grain producing states on Wednesday blamed the Centre’s pricing policy for the low offtake.

Representative of these states said high prices that the Centre charge for allocating these grains to states are not letting states pick up these stocks.

They also urged the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to clear the mounting dues on grain procurement, which in some cases has run into crores of rupees.

Food secretaries and ministers from Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh participated in the day-long meeting with Union food ministry officials to discuss issues related to procurement, storage and transportation of foodgrains.

“In Uttar Pradesh, dues from last year’s rice procurement estimated to be over Rs 500 crore hasn’t been cleared yet,” a senior representative from the state food and civil supplies department said. In Madhya Pradesh, almost Rs 780 crore is yet to be paid by FCI for wheat procured from the state. States also wanted the Centre to sell them excess grains at the central issue price (CIP) for families above and below poverty lines, rather than the current rate. Uttar Pradesh said FCI should transport grains within the states in trucks rather than wait for railway wagons which lead to delay.

“Grains allocated for open market sale should be made available at a price less than Rs 1,200 a quintal,” the representative from Madhya Pradesh said.

The states also said the price paid to millers for custom milling and transportation should be enhanced from Rs 10 a quintal to Rs 25 each quintal. The government procures paddy from farmers, and then gives it to millers for conversion into rice. The millers are paid commission at the rate of Rs 10 a quintal.

Big grain producing states like Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh urged the Centre to allocate additional storage space under the 10-year guarantee scheme to meet the growing challenges.