Odisha Govt Hikes Foodgrain Transport Charges Of New Agents

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has increased the charges of the transport agents engaged in supply of food grains under the Supplementary Nutrition Programme.

According to official sources, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday approved a proposal to increase the transportation charges of the agents in carrying food grains to Anganwadi centres from Rs 75 per to Rs 150 per quintal.

However, the increased charges would not be applicable to the present transport agents. The state government will float tender to engage new transportation agents. The agents selected for the work would be paid at the revised rate, the sources said.

They further said the government approved the proposal as the transport charges of the agents had not been revised since 2011. Since the fuel cost and other costs had gone up since then, the chief minister agreed to the proposal.

As per the present system, these agents are engaged to transport rice to Anganwadi centres for preparing nutrition food. Besides, they also transport wheat and other essentials to women self-help groups (SHGs).