Rice millers have urged the State Government immediately to pay transportation charges for paddy procurement at a hiked rate as the existing rate is “abnormally low”.
Abnormal lower rates fixed for different incidentals for procurement of paddy and collection of custom milled rice (CMR) have posed a serious problem to the State Government.
While the State Government is going ahead with the paddy procurement programme in a big way, the transportation charge on paddy has been fixed by the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution at Rs 4.75 per quintal. This rate is fixed for bringing paddy from purchase centres to the mill premises for the Kharif marketing season (KMS) 2017-18.
Interestingly, the transportation charge for KMS 2016-17 was fixed at Rs 36.18 per quintal. And instead of hiking the charge, the Union Government has slashed tit o Rs 4.75, which is apparently unworkable considering the rates of transportation prevalent in Odisha.
According to sources, while for procurement of paddy this rate is fixed, the transportation charge on custom milled rice from mill point to godowns of the State agency is also low and unworkable.
While during KMS 2016-17 the rate was Rs 13.44 per quintal , the Union Ministry has slashed it to Rs 6.62.
Both the rates are unworkable and not at all feasible considering the present rate of food grains transportation in the State, point out the rice millers. They have presented a memorandum to the State Secretary of Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Department Vir Vikram Yadav in this regard. Millers have also raised hue and cry over the matter with the Minister of Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Surjya Narayan Patro on this issue. The present transportation rate for food grains transportation is above Rs 30 per quintal; and officials of the Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation (OSCSC) agree that the rate fixed by the Union Government is abnormally low.
The OSCSC, which handles paddy procurement, is not able to pay the amount to the millers as the rate is not acceptable to them. Similarly, gunny depreciation and usage charges have been fixed at Rs 12.30 as against the State Government’s proposal for Rs 24.00.
Administrative Charges on CMR have been fixed at a much lower level, which is not acceptable to the State Government, officials say. During KMS 2016-17, the administrative charge was fixed at 2.5 per cent, which has been slashed to 1 per cent during KMS 2017-18.
The State authorities are worried over the issue and have approached the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs to consider a hike in the
rates immediately as the problem is threatening smooth paddy procurement.