According to the National Audit Office’s most recent report, only 24 per cent of the Paddy Marketing Board’s storage capacity has been used.
As of March 31 of this year (2022), the number of stores belonging to the 07 regional offices of the Paddy Marketing Board was 315. Its capacity is 310,720 metric tons. But the audit report states that only 75,237 metric tonnes of storage capacity were used.
It accounts for 24% of total storage capacity. Also, 87 warehouses were not utilised due to a lack of stock during the 2021–2022 Maha season. The condition of 23 warehouses was deplorable.
The paddy marketing board had a storage capacity of 10% of the total rice harvest in the 2018/2019 season. However, only 1% of the total rice harvest was purchased that season. Only about 15% of the storage capacity was used.
The audit also revealed that the warehouses owned by the paddy marketing board have been underutilized for a long time.
