The Naveen Patnaik Government seems to have devised a new mechanism of Taskforces to tide over crisis. It had recently formed a taskforce to probe the scam of allotment of Government lands and houses.
Now, getting a snub from its counterpart in West Bengal, the Odisha Government on Wednesday decided to constitute a three-member Taskforce to formulate a long-Term Action Plan (lTAP) to meet the present potato crisis in future and primarily to make the State self-reliant in production of the tuber vegetable.At present, only two lakh tones of potato is being produced per annum in the State against the demand of 10 lakh tonnes.
The Taskforce decision was taken at a high-level meeting held here under the chairmanship of Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Sanjay Dasburma.The Secretaries of Agriculture, Cooperation and Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Departments were present.The Principal Secretary, Agriculture would be the chairman of the Taskforce with the Secretaries of Cooperation and Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare as its members.
The Taskforce would submit its recommendations relating to the implementation of the lTAP to the Government within 30 days as to how to make the State self-dependent in production, storage and distribution of potato, said Dasburma.It was decided to keep a buffer stock of four lakh tonnes of potato every year for a period of six months from May to December to meet the demand of consumers in the event of a crisis. To streamline distribution, the buffer stocks would be sold through the public distribution system and the Government’s authorised agencies, he said.
The Minister said the Government has identified six cold storages under the Cooperation Department and five cold storages run by private agencies for storage of a buffer stock of two lakh tonnes each.The State-run MARKFED and the Central agency NAFED would undertake procurement of potato during the harvesting season to safeguard the interests of farmers.
The Horticulture Director was asked to submit an Action Plan for revival of 12 defunct cold storages under the Cooperation Department. The General Manger, Public Distribution System was asked to work out a roadmap for lifting and distribution of stocks during the time of distress.
On the present potato situation, the Minister said that though the stalemate persists from the West Bengal side with continued restriction on movement of potato-laden trucks, as many as 125 trucks of potato reached the State through various routes on Wednesday. On Thursday, potato trucks requisitioned by the NAFED would reach from UP. The State would make alternative arrangements to bring potato from other States.
On the storage capacity in the State, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Secretary Madhu Sudan Padhi said that while six cold storages under the Cooperation Department are functioning with a capacity of 21,000 tonnes, other 12 cold storages with 15,000-tonne capacity are defunct. Besides, though 27 cold storages are there in the State with an intake capacity of 1.32 lakh tonnes capacity, 50 per cent of them are not functioning, he said.