Bhubaneswar, March 27 : Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has urged Union Minister Piyush Goyal for lifting of 20 lakh metric tonne (LMT) of surplus rice from Odisha. In a letter written to Goyal, Patnaik said paddy procurement for kharif season 2022-23 is going to be closed by March 31, 2023 and about 65.23 LMT of paddy equivalent to 44.23 LMT kharif rice has been procured as on March 22, 2023. The state has transferred MSP dues of about Rs 13,081 crore to the bank account of the farmers within 42 to 48 hours of purchase of the paddy, he said. Patnaik said the state expected that about 10 lakh MT of rice will be procured in Odisha during the ensuing Rabi crop season. Thus, total 54 lakh MT of rice is likely to be procured during the entire Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2022-23, he pointed out. Odisha's own consumption under different schemes including NFSA will be 24 lakh MT of rice, while the Department of Food and Public Distribution has set a target to procure 10.33 LMT of fortified parboiled rice for acceptance by FCI during KMS 2022-23 (Kharif) for the state. So, the state will be left with approximately 20 lakh MT of surplus rice, the Chief Minister said. "Non-evacuation of the above quantity of surplus rice from the state will severely affect the state's paddy procurement operations in the coming seasons as well as it will adversely impact the livelihood of lakhs of farmers of the state whose main source of earning is through MSP operations of paddy procurement," Patnaik wrote in the letter. He, therefore, urged Goyal to issue directions to concerned officials to accept the additional 20 lakh MT of surplus rice (17 lakh MT fortified parboiled rice and 3 lakh MT fortified raw rice) for the KMS 2022-23 for the interest of Odisha farmers. /IANS