Supplies Paresh Adhikary said that the state government has procured 5.24 lakh tonnes of rice out of the targeted 9.5 tonnes.

Adhikary told mediapersons after he met representatives of five procurement agencies of the state government.

He, however, assured that the government would be able to fulfil the target by September. While last year the state government procured 2.89 tonnes of rice from rice mills, this year the figure has risen to 3.74 lakh tonnes.

Today’s meeting was presided over by state finance minister Asim Dasgupta. The meeting was called in the wake of severe criticism the government faced from the Centre for failing to meet the target.

On Tuesday, Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi had also attacked the Left on this issue at a rally in Malda. She had said that state governments could not absolve themselves of their responsibility in price rise, as they were failing to reach their targets in procuring rice and other cereals.

Adhikary, however, blamed the central government for the hike in prices of essential commodities like rice. “So far they were allowing export of rice to Bangladesh and that caused a price hike here. Now the export has been banned and the price has been checked,” he said.