Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The seven plants operated by the State Rural Livelihood Mission (SRLM) have incurred huge losses, mainly due to non-revision of Take Home Ration (THR) rates for several years and rising raw material costs amid the ongoing West Asia crisis.
The supply of raw materials has also been adversely affected as the units have failed to make payments to suppliers.
The SRLM has a contract to supply THR to the Women and Child Development (WCD) Department till June 30. After that, it is reportedly not interested in continuing the arrangement.
A senior SRLM officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the cost of THR production has increased substantially while THR rates have not been revised since 2018-19.
In such a scenario, ensuring a steady supply of raw materials has become difficult. Adding to the burden, packaging costs for THR packets have doubled due to the ongoing West Asia crisis.
As a result, production costs have increased significantly while the government continues to pay the old rates. Under such circumstances, it is not feasible to absorb the rising production costs, the officer said.
The officer claimed that dues of THR manufacturing units rose to Rs 302 crore last year and may increase by another Rs 60 crore after a fresh audit.
The WCD Department does not release payments but expects the plants to continue supplying THR, which is practically not possible in the present situation, he said.
It is learnt that the government is now exploring alternative arrangements for THR supply.
THR supply hit by payment issues
An officer of the Women and Child Development Department said around 9,000 metric tonnes of THR are procured every month from SRLM plants and supplied to anganwadis.
For some time, there has been a shortage in THR supply. He acknowledged that SRLM-run THR plants are facing difficulties in making payments to raw material suppliers. The supply of THR has been disrupted over the past two to three months.
Rates of THR packets
100 gram Rs 8
600 gram Rs 48
750 gram Rs 47 to Rs 50
