Bhubaneswar, Jan. 20 -- Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has urged the Centre to release for early release of the pending subsidy of Rs 6,039 crore to complete the paddy procurement process in the state.

State Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain, in a letter to Union Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Piyush Goyal, said that the Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation (OSCSC), which undertakes paddy procurement, has so far borrowed a staggering sum of Rs 15,000 crore to run the programme by way of upfront investment.

"This high volume of bank loan is mainly due to non-release of subsidy by the Department of Food and Public Distribution. OSCSC has pending claims towards provisional and...