Paddy issue rocks council again

PATNA: The BJP members on Friday created ruckus over the slow pace of paddy procurement in the legislative council for the sixth time in the current budget session. BJP member Lal Babu Prasad, while moving an adjournment motion demanded special debate over the issue.
As soon as the House assembled for the day in the pre-lunch session, BJP members rose on their feet demanding a debate over the issue.Lal Babu Prasad said thousands of paddy farmers are on the verge of starvation as the government has failed to pay them for their produce.
BJP members again raised this issue during zero hour amid anti-government slogans. Several BJP members, including Satyendra Narain Kushwaha, Lal Babu Prasad, Baidyanath Prasad and Mangal Pandey trooped in the well of the House demanding debate over this issue.
Amid noisy scenes, leader of opposition in the council Sushil Kumar Modi said the Centre has already extended the paddy procurement date till April 15, but there is lack of proper coordination among the various state government departments to expedite procurement. While the department of cooperatives has sent its circular to all the primary agricultural credit societies (PACSs) in this regard, the food and consumer protection department had not issued any guidelines to the state food corporation (SFC) till date.
Amid shouting of slogans, presiding officer Haroon Rashid rejected the adjournment motion and adjourned the House till lunch break.
Later, Modi told the media that the SFC is yet to pay arrears to the tune of Rs 751 crore to paddy farmers. Farmers are facing great difficulty since the SFC has refused to buy paddy from them with effect from April 1, he said and added as a result, 2.39 lakh tonnes of paddy is lying with PACSs.
He also said the farmers are yet to get the bonus amount. The state cabinet had cleared a sum of Rs 500 crore last December for this purpose. Out of the 1,130 registered rice millers in the state, only 460 have signed agreements with the farmers, he said.
Quoting the state government's figures of procurement, Modi said in most of the districts procurement is less than 20%, particularly in Khagaria, Sitamarhi and Muzaffarpur . In Lakhisarai, procurement is 216% of the target but the payment is only 41%, he said.