The Kerala government has flayed the Centre’s decision to bar governments and State-run agencies from procuring food grains through the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS).
The move, the State fears, could drive up food prices and weaken market intervention efforts. The government has also demanded relaxing the monthly ceiling imposed on tide-over allocation of rice in view of the upcoming festival season.
Meeting Union Minister
Food and Civil Supplies Minister G.R. Anil is expected to lead a delegation to meet the Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal in the national capital to raise the State’s concerns this week.
The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has been selling surplus stocks of wheat and rice at rates lower than market prices through the OMSS. Some months ago, the Centre discontinued the sale of rice and wheat under the scheme to State governments.
Supplyco used to regularly procure foodgrain by bidding at e-auctions conducted under the OMSS until the 2022-23 fiscal. The lack of competitors had enabled the agency to procure food grains at base rates.
“The decision to prevent States or any of our agencies from taking part in the auction process is bound to affect consumer States as ours. It will impede our efforts to ensure a steady supply of food grains in the public market,” Mr. Anil told mediapersons at a press conference here on Sunday.
Current allocation
Kerala currently receives an allocation of 14.25 lakh tonnes of food grains, of which 10.26 lakh tonnes are apportioned to the priority ration cardholders (43% of the total households), while the remaining 3.99 lakh tonnes are distributed among the rest.
While the State has made repeated requests to enhance its tide-over allocation to supply food grains to non-priority ration cardholders, the government is now pursuing efforts to get rid of the existing monthly ceiling of 33,294 tonnes of food grains fixed for the State.
“The existing limit has obstructed the State’s efforts to cater to the demand for food grains at subsidised rates during the festival season that runs from February to May. The government has been forced to pay higher rates whenever it has distributed ration in excess of the limit,” the Minister said.
