The Orissa High Court has granted a stay on the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), New Delhi’s decision to shift its Bhubaneswar Regional Office and merge it with the Patna office.
Notably, on July 26, 2019, the Central Government has taken a decision to merge the Bhubaneswar Regional Office with that of Patna without citing any reasons.
This decision has been challenged in the High Court by Pradip Pradhan, RTI activist and Member of advisory body of the NHRC on Right to Food.
Pradhan pointed out that the CWC Bhubaneswar Regional office is a profit-making institution and caters to the need of Odisha and adjoining States like Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. If it is shifted to Patna, a lot of problems would arise.
At first it would be expensive for the depositors to run to Patna office to sort their issues. Connectivity to Patna from Odisha would be another problem, as Bihar does not have port facility. Supply of food grains from warehouse inside the State to nearby places of other States through the Paradip Port would be stopped, Pradhan stated.
Efficient monitoring of warehouse godowns, timely release of food grains would be hampered. By the way in due course of time the whole godown system would collapse within a few years leading to handing over of it to private bodies for management.
Hearing Pradhan’s plea on August 16, a two-member Division bench of the High Court granted a stay on the decision of Central Government for shifting of the Bhubaneswar office of CWC to Patna and issued notice to the CWC Managing Director and Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution System Secretary seeking their response by September 17, 2019 , the day of the next hearing.
Advocates Jyoti Patnaik and Aswani Kumar Karmi are pleading the case in the High Court on Pradhan’s behalf.