With the neighbouring Chhattisgarh Government hiking the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for a quintal of paddy to Rs 2,500, the Odisha Government has come under tremendous pressure to follow suit.
Chhattisgarh’s new Congress Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has announced that his Government would collect paddy at a rate of Rs 2,500 per quintal. During the election campaign, Congress president Rahul Gandhi had announced that if Congress comes to power then MSP would be Rs 2,500 per quintal.
With the Congress Government announcing the MSP hike, paddy collection has been spurred in a big way.
The Odisha Government has been raising the issue of hiking the MSP continuously and the ruling BJD is going for a huge demonstration in New Delhi demanding MSP hike on January 8.
However, with the Chhattisgarh Government instantly hiking the MSP to Rs 2,500, the farmers in Odisha too are now pressing for a hike by the State Government.
According to an estimate made by the Odisha Government, production of a quintal of paddy costs a farmer Rs 2,930. Accordingly, the State Assembly has passed a resolution for hiking the MSP to Rs 2,950.
What would be the cost if the State hikes the MSP? According to estimates, as the State Government is procuring 55 lakh tonnes of paddy. If the MSP is hiked to at least Rs 2,500 per quintal, it would cost over Rs 4,000 crore to the State Exchequer.
If the State hikes the MSP of Rs 2,950 then the expenditure would be over Rs 6,000 crore.