The Naveen Patnaik Government, which distributes freebies and cries Central neglect to garner votes, is strangely silent on the issue of subsidised sugar, which affects 50 lakh consumers and costs the State a loss of a whopping Rs400 crore in Central assistance each year.
While the State Government spends about Rs1,200 crore a year on the Re-1 rice scheme without any qualms, it is unwilling to spend the Rs42 crore needed to avail subsidised sugar from the Centre.
The decision has a potential to provide subsidised sugar to 49,40,818 consumers, including 12,53,574 covered by the Antyodaya Yojana.
As per sources in the Food and Civil Supplies Department, the Union Government has stopped distribution of sugar through public distribution shops (PDSs) since May 2013 and, instead, enforced a new policy that mandates the State Governments to procure sugar from open market and distribute two kg each at Rs 13.50 a kg to the intended beneficiaries every month.
The two-kg quota can also be increased during festive seasons. As per estimates, the State requires 1,08,214 tonnes of sugar a year, including 3730 tonnes for the festive season.
While the Union Government provides a subsidy of Rs18.50 on a kg of this sugar, the consumers are supposed to pay Rs13.50 and the State Government is supposed to bear the rest of the expenses that include transportation, distribution and retailer commission.
The annual expenses for transportation, distribution and retailer commission are estimated to be around Rs42 crore while the subsidy by the Centre amounts to more than Rs400 crore. The State is losing out on the massive subsidy as the Government is stingy about paying just Rs42 crore.
“As per the existing rules, consumers are supposed to pay for the additional expenses on transportation, distribution and other related charges. Besides, they are supposed to pay the difference if the sugar price goes beyond Rs32. However, the Union Government didn’t allow us to hike the retail price of sugar to cover up the expenses on transportation, distribution and retailer commission. This is the reason we have not been able to procure sugar from open market and distribute it through PDS even though we had been doing it between 2002 and 2013,” said Food and Civil Supplies Minister Sanjay Dasburma.
However, a senior official from the department had a different view that reveals the Government’s real intention.
He said, “This sugar distribution is a complex affair. Neither we have the necessary logistical support nor do we have the required manpower. We still attempted to do our best and wrote a letter to Union Food and Supplies Department requesting him to allow us to take the difference from the consumers. The Union Government has agreed to the proposal and we had made a proposal on March 31 to the State Government to restart distribution.”
“Keeping the logistical and manpower challenges in mind, our proposal focused on providing the BPl families with 1.750 kg of sugar every month. We had requested the Government to take a call on this on the departmental note sheet. However, the Chief Secretary rejected it and sent the file to the Third Floor. The Food and Civil Supplies Minister had signed it. later, the Chief Minister signed it on April 7 and that was the end of the road for subsidised sugar in Odisha,” he added.