About 25.55 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of paddy has arrived so far in the 1,976 paddy procurement centres established by Chhattisgarh government in the State as on December 18 this year, officials said.
The Government paddy procurement exercise commenced on November 16 this year and will continue till January 31 next year.
Notably, Chhattisgarh is among 15 States in the country with a completely decentralised system for procurement of rice and wheat under Centre’s ‘Decentralized Procurement Scheme (DCP)’.
The Central Government has started encouraging the State Governments to adopt decentralised procurement system for wheat, paddy and rice.
Under Decentralized Procurement Scheme (DCP), food grains is procured and distributed by the State Governments themselves, officials stated.
Under this scheme, the designated DCP States procure, store and issue foodgrains under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) and other welfare schemes of the Government of India. The decentralized system of procurement has the objectives to ensure that Minimum Support Price(MSP) is passed on to the farmers, to enhance the efficiency of procurement and to encourage procurement in non-traditional States, thereby extending the benefits of MSP to local farmers as well as to save on transit losses and costs.
This also enables procurement of food grains more suited to local taste for distribution under the TPDS.
The Food Corporation of India (FCI) will accept only the surplus food grains after deducting the needs of the states, from these State Governments (not millers) which require to be moved to deficit states.
State Governments procure foodgrains on behalf of Central Government. The procured foodgrains are distributed by them directly under TPDS and Welfare Schemes to the extent of allocation approved by the Central Government and surplus quantity, if any, is handed over to FCI. Any deficit is also met by FCI.
Thus Government meets its commitment towards food based Welfare Scheme under DCP System.
Chhattisgarh is also among only six other states in the country out of 36 States and union territories which have its supply-chain management system under Public Distribution System (PDS) completely digitized so far, officials stated.
With a view to modernising the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) the Central Government has initiated a plan scheme on ‘End-to-end Computerisation of TPDS Operations’ on cost sharing basis with the States/UTs. The scheme comprises activities, namely, digitization of ration cards/beneficiary and other databases, computerization of supply-chain management, setting up of transparency portals, FPS automation etc.
Meanwhile, in the ongoing paddy procurement season, Jashpur district of Chhattisgarh adjoining the borders of Jharkhand and Odisha is frequently facing complaints on illegal paddy procurement.
To tackle such incidents, the District Collector Himsikhar Gupta has set up teams of officials under the Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) to keep an eye on such activities.
“During the last ten days, we have noticed around two to three cases wherein Jharkhand or Odisha based trucks were found carrying paddy from our district without permission,' said Gupta.
“It is a common problem we face during the paddy procurement season. Steps are being taken to deal with the issue,” he said.
Even the Gumla District Administration in the neighbouring Jharkhand State is working to avoid such situations. “The movement of trucks carrying paddy from our state or Chhattisgarh is not a problem.
But, if the entire process is carried out illegally, there are teams functioning under the Transport Officer to take immediate action,” said Gumla Deputy Commissioner Dinesh Chandra Mishra.