U'khand Seeds Corporation stares at another big loss

Rudrapur: Uttarakhand Seeds and Tarai Development Corporation (UKTDC) in Pantnagar is staring at another big loss this year after it failed to sell even half of its paddy seed stock by the end of the sowing season.
During this year, the corporation had produced a massive 17,692 quintals of paddy seeds.
However, till June 2016, it sold only 8661.83 quintals of seeds.Warehouses of the UKTDC are now full of over 9,000 quintals of unsold seeds even as the paddy sowing season has come to an end.
Now, the corporation officials have floated tenders to get buyers for the remaining stock at a low rate, a move which may dent UKTDC exchequer by crores of rupees.
During the Rabi season last year, UKTDC suffered a loss of Rs 20 crore after seeds sold in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh did not germinate.
Experts attribute this year’s bad sale to the last year’s fiasco.
After the Rabi season, the corporation had expected a few reforms in the marketing system for Kharif crops to earn some profit.
In June this year, the then president of the corporation, IAS officer S Raju, had asked the managing director and his marketing team to sell the remaining seed stock in Bihar, where delayed sowing of paddy is practised. He had also warned of departmental action if the marketing team failed to do so.
But, the IAS officer stepped down from his post a few days after issuing the instructions.
Now, the corporation has 9,000 quintals of paddy seeds in its stock, whose market value is around three crores.
“When the paddy sowing season is over, management is trying to sell the remaining seeds at throwaway prices,” said Surendra Arora, a farmer and shareholder at UKTDC.
“These seeds cannot be used for victuals. Only millers can use them, who will not pay much,” Arora added.
UKTDC's chief marketing officer, Ganga Singh Bisht, told TOI that the corporation has floated tenders for the sale of the remaining paddy seeds and selling will be done through auctions.