Odisha seeks Modi's intervention on rice quota

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to release the pending rice quota under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) for the state.

In a letter to Modi, the chief minister said the central government has been requested for the release of 3.20 lakh MT rice and 52.9 thousand MT wheat for the allotment months of November 2015 to January 2016.

"But, the government of India has so far released 2.92 lakh MT rice and 78.4 thousand wheat against the above requirement of foodgrains under NFSA. This has resulted in a shortfall of 27.9 thousand MT rice and surplus of 25.5 thousand MT wheat," he said.

Saying that Odisha is a rice consuming state and most people prefer rice as their staple diet, he said the state government's request was based on ratio 85.82: 14.18 derived from the option of beneficiaries indicated in their NFSA applications.

Failure to supply foodgrains as per the choice of the NFSA beneficiaries will be against the spirit of the Act, he added.

He said that 80.05 lakh families have been enrolled as Priority Households and Antyodaya Anna Yojana households under NFSA.