For the first time, the Andhra Pradesh State Civil Supplies Corporation will directly procure 15 lakh tonnes of raw rice from rice millers for its public distribution system under the new decentralised procurement policy.
Normally, the Food Corporation of India procures levy rice, both for supply to fair price shops under the PDS in the State and for the central pool.
As the State government is determined to roll out the Decentralised Procurement Policy from ensuing kharif marketing season -- to ensure minimum support price to farmers, quality Re.1 kg rice to customers in their own districts -- a preparatory meeting was held with Joint Collectors, District Supply Officers from 15 districts, officers of Food Corporation of India and rice millers here on Monday.
Objective
“The objective is to take views and inputs from all the stakeholders to finalise the procurement exercise keeping in view available storage capacity with the Food Corporation of India and the Civil Supplies Corporation in various districts,” said Civil Supplies Minister D. Sridhar Babu who chaired the meeting.
The decentralised procurement policy would be implemented in phases, beginning with procurement of 15 lakh tonnes of rice from October. “We plan to procure the entire 40 lakh tonnes of raw rice required for PDS in the State in the next one or two years, once the storage capacity is upgraded,” he said.
For the 15 lakh tonnes of rice to be stored in different districts, the FCI agreed to give a few of its godowns to the Civil Supplies Corporation which had its own storage space of five lakh tonnes. The corporation would also strengthen the mandal level stock points by constructing godowns scientifically.
The FCI agreed to depute its manpower and also train Civil Supplies Corporation staff in procurement process before the kharif marketing season commenced. The corporation will also purchase superfine quality paddy, mill it and supply superfine quality rice through special counters at a reasonable price.
