Centre’s policies causing financial burden on States: TSCSC chairman

Hyderabad: Telangana State Civil Supplied Corporation chairman Mareddy Srinivas Reddy alleged that the Centre’s non-uniform policies for paddy procurement, are causing severe losses for the State exchequer. He rubbished the claims of the BJP State leaders that the Union government was paying entire expenditure for paddy procurement including transportation, storage and even for gunny bags. […]

Hyderabad: Telangana State Civil Supplied Corporation chairman Mareddy Srinivas Reddy alleged that the Centre’s non-uniform policies for paddy procurement, are causing severe losses for the State exchequer. He rubbished the claims of the BJP State leaders that the Union government was paying entire expenditure for paddy procurement including transportation, storage and even for gunny bags.

“Rather than making baseless statements, the BJP leaders should get approvals from the Centre for arranging necessary gunny bags, storage space, increase CMR (custom milled rice) delivery time, Hamali charges and other issues pertaining to paddy purchases,” he demanded.

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Speaking to mediapersons here on Wednesday, Srinivas Reddy said due to increased paddy production and procurement of yield from farmers, the States were forced to arrange for advance payments to farmers which has become a burden on the States’ exchequer. Though the Centre supplied 6.4 crore of total 14 crore gunny bags required for 2021-22, the State government was forced to procure the remaining gunny bags. The Centre is paying only Rs 7.32 per each old gunny bag purchased by the State government since 2014, even as the price of new gunny bags in the market has increased from Rs 45.08 in 2014 to Rs 70.96 in 2021.

Further, the Union government is not releasing any advance amount to the States for paddy procurement and instead, making payments only after distribution of CMR through public distribution system to the beneficiaries in the States. As it would take nearly seven months for receiving payments, the States are forced to obtain loans and bear the interest to clear the dues to farmers. In a year’s period, the Centre is paying interest for two months and the States are bearing the interest for remaining 10 months.

The Food Corporation of India is not providing necessary storage space for rice stocks due to delay in wagon movement meant to transportation of rice to different needy States. “As they are unable to provide storage space, we are unable to hand over the CMR as per schedule which is resulting in additional burden of interest on States. Huge stocks of rice are now lying in rice mills. Unless the Centre clears the existing stocks from godowns, we will not be able to hand over stocks from rice mills,” the Corporation chairman said.

Srinivas Reddy alleged that only Rs 5.65 per quintal is being paid towards Hamali charges in Telangana as against Rs 24.25 per quintal in Punjab and Haryana. The CMR delivery time also has been reduced from 13 in 2018-19 to 12 months in 2019-20, though the paddy yield has increased from 37 lakh tonnes to 64 lakh tonnes respectively.

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