Central Government Allows Chhattisgarh for 24 Lakhs of Rice Procurement; CM Baghel Thanks the Centre

Raipur: Earlier, the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and requested him to grant permission for delivering a considerable amount of rice to the Food Corporation of India during the Kharif Marketing Season 2020-’21.

On this, the Centre issued a letter on Sunday, which declared – “The Government of India has decided to allow 24 lakh MT of rice to be delivered to FCI under central pool during KMS 2020-’21 which is equivalent to the quantity as allowed in previous years to Chhattisgarh”. 

The letter also declared that “an MoU has been signed between Government of India, State Government and Food Corporation of India in both DCP (decentralized procurement scheme) and non-DCP States for the procurement of paddy from farmers under central pool”.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, thanking the Centre, expressed hope that the Centre in the future will grant further permissions to the state for procurement in the central pool. 

On the other hand, the officials of the Chief Minister’s Office fear that the Centre might ask for the discontinuation of the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana. “The state government hopes that the remaining rice will also be taken later. But the worrying thing is that the central government has made a condition that the state government will not give any kind of bonus with the purchase of crops right now or in future”, said an official at CMO, adding, “The Centre has objections with the state government’s ‘Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana’.

The BJP leaders of the state have complained to the Centre that the Congress government is giving bonus to the farmers, whereas the truth is that after the central government’s condition of not giving bonus, the state started Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana and announced to give it per acre instead of crop”.