Bhubaneswar/New Delhi: The Centre has said there is no limit to the procurement of surplus parboiled rice in Odisha by the Food Corporation of India (FCI).
Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Raosaheb Dadarao Danve told this in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.
Replying to a question by BJD MPs Sasmit Patra and Amar Patnaik, the minister clarified that the FCI will procure as much surplus paddy from the state as needed.
The minister stated that the FCI has been procuring parboiled rice from Odisha as per an MoU signed between the Centre and state government. Till February 5 this year, the FCI has collected 4.93 lakh metric tons of parboiled rice from Odisha. Of this, 4.45 lakh metric tons were sent to other states, he said.
Danve further informed that apart from Odisha, the Centre also procures parboiled rice from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Chhattisgarh through the FCI. These are earmarked for distribution among poor people under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), he added.
The godowns of the FCI’s regional centres in these states have enough space to stock parboiled rice, he said.
Also Read: Rice Procurement From Odisha Not To Be Stopped: Union Minister
