Bhubaneswar: A delegation of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MPs met Union Food and Distribution Minister Piyush Goyal and sought steps for release of pending food subsidy of Rs 14,292.51 crore to Odisha.
The BJD leaders, whho submitted a memorandum to Goyal in Delhi, also sought payment of Rs 6,187 crore to the state towards the additional interest incurred by Odisha till November 30, this year, cumulatively.
In their memorandum, the lawmakers said that the Odisha government led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has been on the forefront of ensuring record production of food grains and being the third largest contributor of rice to the PDS system.
Stating that the responsibility for procurement of rice rests with the Centre, it said in order to ensure that the farmers of Odisha do not face any problems, the state government signed an MOU with the Union government to be a Decentralised Procurement (DCP) State.
This was aimed to help the farmers by procuring food grains on behalf of the Central government, the MPs said in their memorandum.
In this reference, there is a total pending food subsidy amounting to Rs 14,292.51 crore that the Centre is to pay the Odisha government. Out
Of this, Rs 11,689.21 crore is towards provisional food subsidy and Rs 260330 crore towards advance subsidy, it said.
Apart from this, the Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation is yet to be paid Rs 6,187 crore towards the additional interest it has incurred till November 30, 2022 cumulatively due to the delay in release and short-release of subsidy by the Centre. This amount still remains un-couped and should be paid by the Centre, the BJD MPs said, urging the Union Minister to take steps for release of the entire amount to the state.
The MPs included Pinaki Mishra, Bhatruhari Mahtab, Amar Patnaik, Achyta Samanta, Sasmit Patra and Sulata Deo.
