As wheat procurement season begins in Punjab, Arvind Kejriwal urges government to create storage space

It was after Kejriwal’s meeting that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann met Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi on March 26, seeking to expedite the movement of foodgrains from the state. “The CM sought that at least 40 rakes of foodgrains should be moved out of Punjab to recipient states every day. This way, we will be able to clear space by June 30 this year. The Union minister assured us that this would be done,” said an official.

Mann told Joshi that the state is expected to procure 124 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of wheat. Around 5 lakh tonnes of wheat from the previous season is also stocked in the state due to which the government has to make arrangements for the storage of about 129 lakh tonnes of wheat. Mann said that due to the space crunch, most of the covered space available with the agencies is being diverted for the storage of rice.

Mann said that as per the availability of storage space, the state would require at least 25 LMT of wheat to be moved via direct delivery special trains to cope with the shortfall in storage space. He also informed the Union minister that due to the shortage of space for rice, only 45 per cent of rice due has so far been accepted by the Food Corporation of India (FCI). He said that on March 26, the space available with FCI was for 7.50 LMTs, while a total of 71.50 LMTs of rice is yet to be delivered.

A looming problem

Punjab can store 175 lakh tonnes of grains under covered spaces and 60 lakh tonnes in open plinths. Of this 235 lakh ton capacity, space for at least 100 lakh tonnes would be needed between April 15 to May 15.

An official said wheat was a hardy grain and can be stored in covered area plinths (CAPs). The state is now in the process of creating CAPs for 35 lakh tonnes of grains. Under CAP storage, the grains are stored under tarpaulins over raised platforms.

“The Centre does not allow grains to be stored in uncovered spaces. But we have got Centre’s approval for creating this space considering that we have no space. At least this time, we are preparing in advance,” said an official.

Last year, when Kejriwal was in Tihar jail, Punjab faced problems of storage. Later, after the state faced problems during the paddy procurement season, Kejriwal had pulled up government officials for not taking up the issue with the Centre at the appropriate time.

However, the storage scenario is not rosy – at least 145 lakh tonnes of food grain is already stored in state godowns, and around 100 lakh tonnes of freshly shelled rice is waiting to be stored.

Even after Mann’s request, on average, only 20 rakes with 50,000 tonnes of grains move out of Punjab every day. As wheat arrivals will peak from April 20 to 30, the state will grapple with space. The priority of the government is to get the paddy purchased in October last year milled as soon as possible and store the rice in covered godowns because rice cannot be stored in the open.

About 170 lakh tonnes of paddy were purchased in October out of which only half has been milled till now. Due to the lack of space in the godowns, millers are shying away from milling. The millers are also complaining that in peak summer, the moisture of the paddy will decrease, and the rice will break during milling.