About one lakh tonne of paddy was destroyed in two years in the State. Of these, more than 50,000 tonne was destroyed due to delay in lifting while about 50,000 tonne paddy was destroyed due to moisture and rain in the warehouses. Food and Civil Supplies Minister Punnulal Mohle informed this in a written reply to a question by BJP member Devjibhai Patel in the Chhattisgarh Assembly on Wednesday.
Mohle said that due to delay in lifting of paddy from the procurement centers, 11,222 tonne of paddy was destroyed in 8 districts in the year 2010-11. This includes 1666 tonne in Bastar, 11 tonne in Bijapur, 5 tonne in Narayanpur, 2607 tonne in Bilaspur, 5433 tonne in Janjgir-Champa, 1305 tonne in Korba, 169 tonne in Kawardha and 15 tonne in Baloda Bazar.
Similarly 39,430 tonne of paddy was destroyed in 2011-12 due to delay in lifting in five districts. In the same year, the quality of 49,950 tonne of paddy was affected due to rain and moisture. This includes 25,573 tonne in Janjgir-Champa, 16,822 tonne in Mungeli and 7555 tonne in Bilaspur district. Mohle informed that no complaint of reduction in weight due to drying of paddy or theft was reported.