After the paddy issue led to noisy scenes in the Chhattisgarh Assembly on Friday, the Speaker told the Ministers for Food and Civil Supplies and Cooperatives to resolve the row within a timeframe as per the concerns raised by members.
During Question Hour, Shivratan Sharma (BJP) sought details of the time period for lifting paddy from the procurement centres and why it has not been lifted for the last seven months. He wanted to know who was to blame and why no action has been taken.
Cooperative Minister Dr Premsai Singh Tekam replied that the rule is to lift the paddy within 72 hours. If the paddy is not lifted, then the committee makes the necessary arrangements.
It is also shifted to storage centres and milling. He said the Central government has not approved the procurement as promised of 60 lakh tonnes of rice in the central pool.
Food and Civil Supplies Minister Amarjeet Bhagat supported him.
The BJP asked why the Centre is being blame when the safety and milling of paddy is the responsibility of the state government. This triggered more din in the House.
Sharma said the key issue is the loss of paddy. He blamed lack of coordination between the two ministries for the mess.
According to him, paddy worth crores of rupees have been damaged.
With the Ministers not budging from their standpoint, Speaker Dr Charandas Mahant intervened and told the Ministers and departmental officials to sit together and resolve the issue at the earliest.
