While a corpus fund of Rs 500 crore is available as Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) with the Union Government, repeated request by the Odisha Government to extend support of Rs 50 crore is going unheeded.
The Union Government way back in 2014-15 created the PSF to support market interventions for price control of perishable agri-horticulture products.
The State Government was to set up State level PSF and 50 per cent will be borne by the State Government and rest support will be extended by the Union Government.
Accordingly in 2015, the Government of Odisha in the Department of Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare created the PSF with a corpus of Rs 100 crore to procure potato, onion and pulses after taking a detailed analysis about the requirement of funds.
The Department of Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare was declared as nodal department for monitoring the PSF. And a Management Committee was formed headed by the Development Commissioner.
With the corpus fund, the State Government planned to directly procure pulses from the farmers in selected market yard of Regional Marketing Cooperatives (RMCs) and Primary Agricultural Cooperatives (PACs).
This move was to stabilize the price fluctuation and would have helped the farmers.
After setting up the PSF, the State Government presented the project proposal for availing Rs 50 crore grant from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
However, bureaucratic wrangling continues for last two years and the State Government has not been able to receive the grant from the Union Government.
last time, Minister Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Surjya Narayan Patro met Union Minister Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan and urged him to release the grant.
Though the Union Minister promised for releasing the grant, the State Government is yet to receive it, admit senior officials in the Department of Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare.
Several times projects have been presented to the Centre asking for release of grants but in vain.
Time and again, senior officials have moved to the Union Ministry for releasing the grant worth Rs 50 crore, but under some or other pretext the Centre is just not releasing grant, admit officials.
Once again the State Government has approached the Centre to release the grant of Rs 50 crore to start procurement operation of pulses and other agri-horticulture commodities, said sources.