Bhubaneswar: Odisha Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, during his visit to New Delhi on Monday, met Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Pralhad Joshi to discuss key issues related to the ongoing Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2024-25. Singh Deo was accompanied by several Members of Parliament from Odisha.
The primary agenda of the meeting was to urge the Centre to expedite the evacuation of surplus rice by the Food Corporation of India (FCI), which has been progressing at a sluggish pace. Odisha has recorded an all-time high paddy procurement of 92,64,235 metric tonnes this season—equivalent to 62,62,086 metric tonnes of rice—the highest in the state’s history.
With the state’s internal requirement for both Kharif and Rabi seasons accounted for, a surplus of nearly 12 lakh metric tonnes of rice remains. The Deputy CM stressed that the delay in evacuation by FCI is impacting storage capacity and hindering ongoing procurement operations.
During the meeting, Singh Deo urged Union Minister Joshi to personally intervene and facilitate faster movement of surplus rice to prevent a backlog in the procurement chain. He also informed that Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had earlier written to the Centre seeking urgent action on the issue.
Union Minister Joshi assured the delegation that the matter would be looked into on priority and necessary steps would be taken to ensure timely evacuation by FCI.
Among those present at the meeting were MPs Smt. Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo, Malvika Devi, Pratap Sarangi, Bhartuhari Mahtab, Pradeep Purohit, Sukanta Panigrahi, Anita Subhadarshini, Ananta Charan Nayak, Bibhu Prasad Tarai, and Rabindra Narayan Behara, along with Union Secretary for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Sanjiv Chopra.
