Govt gives Rs 24,000 cr to FCI so far in FY12 to clear dues

NEW DELHI: Food Minister K V Thomas today informed Parliament that Rs 24,000 crore has been sanctioned to the Food Corporation of India ( FCI) so far in 2011-12 to clear dues with state procurement agencies.

"During the current financial year, an amount of Rs 24,000 crore has so far been released to FCI to be utilised inter alia for making payments to state agencies for procurements made by them," Thomas said in a written statement in the Lok Sabha.

FCI, the nodal agency for foodgrains procurement and distribution, has been asked to settle dues with states at the earliest, he said.

Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, who have complained about non-payment of dues on account of non-availability of funds with FCI, he added.

For instance, the Chhattisgarh government has reported payement due of Rs 173.72 crore from FCI for custom milled rice (CMR) of 2010-12 Kharif crop delivered to it, the minister said in a separate reply.

FCI along with the state procuring agencies buys rice and wheat from farmers at minimum support price and later distributes it through Public Distribution System (PDS).

On the back of record output, FCI has procured 28.14 million tonnes (MT) of wheat in the 2011-12 marketing year (April-March), compared to 22.5 million tonnes last year.

As regards to rice, the FCI has procured 32.63 MT of the grain so far in the 2010-11 marketing year (October-September).

As a result, the foodgrain stocks held in FCI and state godowns are to the tune of 61.27 MT at the start of the current month, triple the buffer stock of 21.2 MT.