Bhubaneswar: The state government has exhorted the Centre to relax the quality specification norms for paddy procurement in the wake of deterioration of paddy quality due to unseasonal rains.
The state food supplies and consumer welfare minister Surya Narayan Patro has written a letter to his counterpart at the Centre Ram Vilas Paswan in this regard.
Patro has requested Paswan to relax the quality norms for procurement of non-fair average quality (non-FAQ) rice in 19 districts where paddy crop has been damaged due to unseasonal rains last month.
“The unseasonal rain has caused extensive damage to the standing crop and harvested crop stacked in paddy fields. As per the preliminary report from our agriculture department, it is apprehended that the quality of paddy brought by the farmers to the market may not conform to the uniform specification prescribed by the Centre,” Patro said in his letter.
The state government has requested the Centre to depute quality control officers to the affected areas for assessment of the quality of paddy and subsequent relaxation of the specification in the larger interest of the farmers of the state.
According to norms, the government can purchase paddy that has been damaged, discoloured or sprouted by up to 5 per cent. The paddy which is damaged over 5 per cent will be rejected.
According to report of Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), the rain has affected 4,07,100 hectares in 14, 720 villages under 2,460 panchayats of 133 blocks and 257 wards of 38 urban local boded (ULBs) in 19 districts.
PNN
