Amidst a warning that the country is sitting on a “grain bomb” due to prospects of record wheat output, the government on Thursday admitted to cases of foodgrains rotting and said enough storage facility must be created.
Referring to CPI(M) member Brinda Karat showing samples of rotten wheat and rice in the House, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in the Rajya Sabha, “I do admit.”
He also agreed that the country needs to create a big storage capacity as the foodgrains production has grown fast in the wake of remunerative prices given to the farmers.
“It is the fact that we could not create surplus storage capacity to our requirement. I do admit... rotten wheat,” he said, replying to a debate on the Finance Bill.
Earlier during the Zero Hour, Ms. Karat raised concern that the government was supplying rotten foodgrains to remote tribal areas. She even showed the samples of spoiled wheat and rice in the House.
Making a demand for recall of such foodgrains from the government godowns, Ms. Karat blamed bureaucrats for the problem. .
“I challenge, let one big officer eat rotis of this wheat... Is there no value for life of adivasis?”
Rajya Sabha member A. K. Ganguly (Nom) said “the country is sitting on a grain bomb” as wheat production is expected to be over 82 million tonnes this year.
India needs additional storage capacity of 1.5 lakh tonnes and only one per cent was created in 2010, he said.
Even before the harvesting of new wheat crop, the government godowns are overflowing with foodgrains of over 47 million tonnes.
With a record wheat production of over 82 million tonnes, the government procurement is expected to exceed 25 million tonnes, which will put pressure on the storage capacity.
Most of the procurement and the storage are undertaken by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and some State agencies.
Mr. Ganguly, a well-known name in the corporate sector, and former chairman of Hindustan Unilever, said while countries like Russia and China are facing wheat crop failure, India has a fortune of reaping good harvest. “Let us not convert fortune of plenty into calamity,” he said.
Noted agriculture scientist M. S. Swaminathan associated himself with the issue raised by Mr. Ganguly.
കടപ്പാട്: ഹിന്ദു ദിനപത്രം
Amidst a warning that the country is sitting on a “grain bomb” due to prospects of record wheat output, the government on Thursday admitted to cases of foodgrains rotting and said enough storage facility must be created.
ReplyDeleteReferring to CPI(M) member Brinda Karat showing samples of rotten wheat and rice in the House, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in the Rajya Sabha, “I do admit.”