Kolkata: State Food and Supplies minister Rathin Ghosh said on Thursday that Rs 7,745 crore is due from the Centre under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).
The Centre is supposed to bear the expenditure of supplying food grains to 6 lakh beneficiaries of PMGKAY in the state. The state government primarily bears the expenditure of supply of rice in the ration. The state procures paddy directly from the farmers and converts the same into rice. As per rules, as soon as the rice reaches the state godowns from the rice mills, the Centre is supposed to pay the cost in phases to the state. “The Centre has not been releasing funds following proper schedule and the dues presently is to the tune of Rs 7,745 crore,” Ghosh said.
The state Food and Supplies department has already procured over 55 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of paddy with a target of 70 lakh MT in this Kharif season that ends on September 30. “Over 23. 41 lakh farmers have authenticated themselves and scheduled slots for sale of their paddy and over 16. 26 lakh have already sold their paddy,” said Ghosh.
He added that the total production of paddy in the state is around 260 lakh MT of which the state’s target is to procure 68 lakh MT, which makes it evident that the farmers can sell the remaining produce as per their wish. “The storage capacity of paddy in each district is for a period of three months,” Ghosh maintained.
He further said that since 2021 his department has invalidated around 1.24 lakh ration cards of which over 73 lakh have become non-functional due to death and self-surrender.