The state's Essential Commodities Supply Corp Ltd (ECSC) has been procuring sugar from mills in the sugar belts and feeding the public distribution system since December 1999, when the Union Government took the Food Corporation of India out of the picture.

With the Durga Puja festival scheduled for the first week of November, ECSC has decided to procure its entire allotted quota of 29,000 tonnes for Sept, against the monthly average procurement of 20,000 tonnes.

ECSC general manager Jyotirmoy Maity said procurement during the current month has been higher, at around 25,000 tonnes, of which already 23,000 tonnes has been lifted from mills in Maharashtra. Maity denied allegations that open market prices had gone up because of erratic supplies via the ration shops. He said supplies via the PDS had improved considerably since ECSC took over the job. When Food Corporation of India (FCI) was handling the job, monthly supplies used to average at 18,000 tonnes, Maity claimed, against the current average of 20,000 tonnes. "We shall continue lifting the entire quantity of sugar allotted to West Bengal after completing arrangements like better transport links, setting up of godowns in remote areas," Maity said.

He said transport charges are posing a big hurdle. FCI, as the operating agent for the Union Government's sugar equalisation fund, pays the transport charges at 1996-97's rate. Since rates have gone up considerably since then, the state has to pay the difference to the transporters.

"We have to pay the balance amount to the transporters from our own funds. We incur some loss due to this, as the levy price fixed by the Government cannot be increased," Maity said.

He said the state has taken up the matter with the Union Government and is expecting an early solution. Another problem is that the Union Government has earmarked mills in Maharashtra from which the state has to buy the levy sugar.

"We have to source our quota sugar from Maharashtra, and that too from various mills spread out over the state. The distance from West Bengal and timely availability of wagons has occasionally hit continuity in supplies to ration shops scattered around the state," he said.