2 weeks after paddy procurement in Punjab got over, Centre yet to release cost sheet

Besides MSP, cost sheet provides the rate of related incidentals such as rural development fund, mandi fee, arhtiyas fee and labour and transport charges

It has been more than 2 weeks since paddy procurement in Punjab got over and the mandis were shut on November 10, the Union ministry of food and public distribution has still not released the provisional cost sheet that details the amount of money it owes to the state government.

The mandis in Punjab were shut on November 10.

Besides the minimum support price (MSP), cost sheet provides the rate of related incidentals such as rural development fund, mandi fee, arhtiyas fee and labour and transport charges. It also mentions the specifications on the quality of rice that the Centre gets from the state after shelling of paddy.

State food and civil supplies department officials said the cost sheet has not been released even as they were assured by the Centre that it will be done on time. Over the years, the state used to receive the cost sheet at the onset of the procurement season but the Centre for the last years released it after the rabi and kharif seasons got over.

This year, the state procurement agencies – Punsup, Pungrain, State Warehousing Corporation and Markfed – and the Centre’s Food Corporation of India (FCI) jointly procured 188 lakh tonne paddy and made a payment of ₹30,100 crore to farmers.

A state food and civil supplies department official said, “We have not made payments to the transporters and labourers yet as there is no clarity on the rates by the Centre other than the MSP of ₹1,960 (for A-grade quality) for paddy.”

“There was a time when payments to the arhtiyas were made simultaneously. We are still waiting for our dues to be paid. We have made payments to labourers engaged in cleaning of the produce,” said Vijay Kalra, president of the Punjab Arhtiya Association.

There are 3,200 arhtiyas in the state who support the procurement process.