In the midst of Opposition unity negotiations, 16 states opposed the Congress-ruled Karnataka government’s demand that states be allowed to buy cheaper rice under the Centre’s Open Market Sales Scheme (OMSS). On June 13, the Union government stopped selling stockpiled grains (rice and wheat) to state governments through OMSS.
According to Sanjiv Chopra, secretary Food and Public Distribution Department, at the recently concluded state food ministers’ meeting in New Delhi, 16 states resisted the Karnataka government’s proposal to join in OMSS.
According to Chopra, states and Union Territories (UTs) such as Tamil Nadu and Odisha believe that the Centre’s surplus food supply should be used in the wider interest of the 140 crore population rather than for a specific section and class of people. States backed the Union government’s decision to sell grains to private traders in order to keep food grain inflation under control. The Union government, however, has failed to sell the wheat to private dealers. Traders responded lukewarmly to the OMSS of rice in the inaugural e-auction on July 5 across 19 states. Only 12 purchasers attended. Only five dealers registered bids for 170 MT of rice out of a total of 3.86 LMT offered for sale by the Food Corporation of India.
Post Your Comments