Pace up process of depositing rice in FCI: Chief Secretary

Raipur:
Chief Secretary Amitabh Jain has instructed collectors of all districts to pace
up the process of depositing custom milled rice to the Food Corporation of India
(FCI). Instructions have also been given to transport the remaining paddy in
the paddy procurement centers at the earliest.

The
Chief Secretary was reviewing Food Movement Work Plan under the Department of
Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection at Mantralaya Mahanadi here
today. Officials of the Food Corporation of India, Railways, and Food Department
attended the meeting.

Jain
directed the collectors to work at a rapid pace to deposit rice in the godowns
as per the set target of Food Corporation of India so that rice milled by
millers can be deposited in the stipulated time. He also directed to take
necessary action after reviewing the problems being faced in transportation and
storage of rice.

The
Chief Secretary directed the railway officials to make available a sufficient
quantity of rakes as per the target and plan, in major rake point districts
including Rajnandgaon, Durg, Balod, Raipur, Bilaspur, Janjgir-Champa, Raigarh,
Mahasamund, and Surajpur. Similarly, instructions have been given to ensure time-bound work of rake movement by the Food Corporation of India so that the
vehicles for transportation can be arranged for the millers as per the
requirement.

The
Chief Secretary directed the collectors of these districts to arrange adequate
warehouses in Mungeli, Dhamtari, Kawardha, Bemetara, and Kanker districts to
maintain the momentum in the rice procurement work by the FCI. Similarly,
directions were given to the concerned for providing additional space for
procurement of rice by renting additional godowns in the State Warehousing Corporation.
Food Secretary Topeshwar Verma, Markfed Managing Director Kiran Kaushal, State
Beverages Corporation Managing Director Niranjan Das, and other officials were
present in the meeting.