Chhattisgarh to sell surplus paddy procured through e-auction

Chhattisgarh government on Thursday decided to sell surplus paddy procured from the farmers in the Kharif marketing year (KMY) 2020-21 in the state through e-auction. The decision was taken during a cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Bhupesh Baghel in Raipur, a government press release said.

In the KMY 2020-21, 92 lakh metric tonne (LMT) paddy was procured at minimum support price (MSP) in the state. The Centre has agreed to accept 24 LMT rice (after custom milling of paddy) in the central pool through Food Corporation of India (FCI) from the state.

“After fulfilling the requirement of 24 LMT quota of rice for the state’s public distribution system (PDS), there remains a surplus stock of 20.5 lakh MT of paddy. The cabinet approved the proposal of disposal of this surplus stock of paddy through auctioning process at the cooperative society level. The Cabinet Sub-committee constituted for paddy procurement and custom milling, will approve the maximum rate to be received for auction,” the release stated.

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The cabinet also ratified the decision of the board of directors of Chhattisgarh State Power Generation Company Ltd (CSPGCL) regarding the complete shut-down of two 120 MW capacity thermal power plants situated in Korba district and authorised the energy department to decide upon usage of the land which will fall vacant after the closure of the two units.

(with PTI inputs )