BHUBANESWAR: After a series of reports about distress sale of paddy, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has decided to review the situation on Sunday. He will review the crop situation with district collectors through video conferencing, official sources said.The reported statement of Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Niranjan Pujari that it is too early to open mandis (market yards) has baffled many. The Minister, who hails from Sonepur, a major paddy-producing district, said there is no point in opening mandis so early as paddy is yet to arrive in the market. Opening mandis now will open the floodgates of corruption, he told mediapersons clarifying the delay in announcing the food procurement policy. The Minister was obviously hinting at recycling of paddy.The assertion of the Minister defies logic, said experts. If there is no paddy in the market there is no question of recycling. Paddy procurement in the last kharif marketing season (2010-11) fell short of the target due to low production. Perhaps the Minister apprehends that the rice millers’ agents, who have a huge paddy stock, may exploit the situation. Rice millers are unable to deliver nearly five lakh tonnes of custom-milled rice to the Government due to lack of storage facility.The Minister is fully aware that the delay in announcement of paddy procurement policy will only help millers and private traders. While harvest of short-duration paddy crops is almost over, crop-cutting of long-duration crops is in full swing. It is alleged that the Government is deliberately delaying the food procurement policy to favour rice millers and private traders, including some ruling party members.Meanwhile, the Government has decided to fix the paddy procurement target for the 2011-12 kharif marketing season at 28 lakh tonnes (including rabi), four lakh tonnes less than the last year’s target. The kharif paddy target is set at 20 lakh tonnes.
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