Paddy procurement system not functioning in Odisha: CAG

Noting that a robust system for paddy procurement was absent in Odisha, the Comptroller and Auditor General today said Paddy Procurement Centres (PPC) were not functioning properly due to delay in their opening and in the absence of godown facilities.
Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation (OSCSC) procured paddy valued at Rs 25,509 crore during 2010-15, but subsidy of Rs 581.68 crore for the period was not released by the Centre due to delay in finalisation of accounts, said the CAG report on General and Social Sector for the year ended March, 2015.
It said PPCs were not functioning properly as delay/ non-opening of such centres, absence of godown facilities, non-calibration of weighing machines and non-intimation of actual dates of procurement to farmers were noticed.

Against marketable surplus of 8,512.44 quintals, 17,981.51 quintals--9,469.07 quintal excess--paddy was procured from 25 farmers and 1,914.19 quintal procured from 19 farmers who had no agricultural land, it said.
Similarly, paddy was also procured without verifying farmers' identity, without issuing vendors receipts, while payments to farmers were either delayed or not paid, it said.
In seven test checked districts, MSP of Rs 22.61 crore was paid to 2,635 farmers for procurement of 18,001.96 MT of paddy with a delay ranging from 2 to 188 days, the CAG said.

"Thus, a robust system to manage the procurement operation of paddy under MSP scheme was not established and the same was not commensurate to the magnitude of the procurement involved (Rs 25,509 crore) for 1010-15," it said.

Instead of conducting required quality analysis, arbitrary deduction of 2 to 4 kg was made from the quantity offered for sale by farmers. As a result, an estimated 2.51 MT paddy worth Rs 305.17 crore might have been unduly passed on to the millers during 2010-15, the CAG report said.
Cover and Plinth (CAP) covers valuing Rs 1.24 crore purchased in December 2014 for creating CAP facilities to store procured paddy during the intervening period of delivery to millers was not utilised, the report said.
In 26 cases of four test checked districts, societies
were tagged to distant mills by 12 to 185 kms despite existence of nearby societies leading to excess payment of Rs 61.14 lakh towards transportation charges, CAG report said.

In two test checked districts, there was excess payment towards custody and maintenance charges amounting to Rs 42.90 lakh. During 1010-14 KMS, there was short delivery of 0.72 lakh MT of Custom Milled Rice (CMR) by millers, it said adding there was also misappropriation of 11.243 MT of paddy valuing Rs 40.78 crore by 20 millers in test checked districts.
Monitoring and supervision was not adequate leading to excess lifting of paddy by custom millers, misappropriation/ doubtful procurement of paddy, delay in delivery of CMR by millers. Shortfalls in holding of district level procurement committee meetings and absence of random check of PPCs/Mills were also noticed, the CAG report said.