Bhubaneswar : , Dec 8 : .Biju Janata Dal MPs from Odisha on Wednesday asked Union Minister PiyushGoyal to direct FCI to lift surplus parboiled rice from Odisha in the upcoming kharif market season (KMS 2021-22). A delegation from BJD Parliamentary Party, which included its leader in Lok Sabha Pinaki Mira and Rajya Sabha Prasanna Aharya, met Goyal at New Delhi and submitted a memorandum.
The BJD MPs stated that 14 lakh farmers had sold 77.33 million metric tonnes (MT) of paddy by October 10, 2021 during KMS2020-21 and Rs 14,444 Crore has been transferred to their bank accounts within 24-48hrs of the purchase of their paddy.
The Indian government informed Odisha in a letter dated 31.8.2021, that surplus parboiled rice would not be accepted by the Food Corporation of India for the next KMS.
The memo stated that “This has come from the blue and greatly distressed lakhs of farmers in Odisha, particularly from the western and south regions of Odisha,”
The MPs stated that Odisha was expected to procure 52 million MT of rice in upcoming KMS.However, the state’s actual requirement is approximately 24 lakh MT rice which includes all the schemes.Odisha would have a surplus of 28 million MT rice, which would include 4 lakh MT of raw rice and 245,000 MT parboiled rice.
Odisha would have a surplus of 24 million MT of parboiled Rice that the FCI could lift.
They stated that if the FCI fails to lift the 24 lakh MT of parboiled Rice due to restrictions imposed in the Department of Food and Public Distribution, it would severely impact Odisha’s paddy procurement operations and cause distress to 10 million farmers.
They pointed out that if the surplus parboiled rice from Odisha is not removed by FCI, it will cause immense pain and distress for 10 lakh farmers and their families.
“We, the public representatives of Odisha, and especially the 10 lakh Odisha farmers and their families, demand the DFPD direct the FCI accept and lift the 24 million MT surplus parboiled rice from Odisha,” the BJD parliamentarians demanded.
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