Govt shifts almost half of 6.6 mt of wheat kept in open to safe place

The Government has already moved almost half of 6.6 million tonne (mt) of wheat kept in open to safe places. This step has been taken on account of fear that monsoon rains which had progressed across the country may damage the grain. The government is struggling with the problem of excess production as against the storing capacity of 64 mt the godowns are overflowing with over 82 mt of grain. In the last few years there has been high procurement and production of rice and wheat due to which the godowns are full.

Food minister K V Thomas stated that on priority basis over three million tonne of wheat has been transferred to safe places which were been forced to be kept in ‘katcha’ complexes in Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, due to inadequate storage capacity. The balance will be transported next month.

In order to address storage crisis, the government decided to offload additional 8 mt of grain to below poverty line (BPL) families and to bulk consumers along with giving nod for export of 2 mt of wheat. Besides, the ministry had also asked state governments to lift grain meant for ration shops for next six months in advance.