No worries over kharif season, says Sharad Pawar

‘‘Wait and watch till the crucial July rainfall actually sets in… when the sowing operation picks up and stretches till August,’’ Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said, dubbing the get-together as a routine meeting on the availability of foodgrain for the Public Distribution System as well as for other schemes.

The Agriculture Ministry has been keeping the Prime Minister’s Office informed about the crop situation.

Elsewhere, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met Pawar and Finance Minister P Chidambaram as well as representatives from other ministries as a precursor to a National Development Council meeting.

States have written in to the rural development ministry asking that the cash component of the food-for-work programme be increased from 50 per cent to 75 per cent.

The agriculture ministry says the foodgrain production for 2004/2005 is expected to reach 210 million tonnes. Questions were raised over the food production estimates after the procurement of wheat fell this year compared to last year for the same period. Pawar reiterated that India had enough stocks for now.

The low procurement of wheat is being attributed to a number of factors including possible hoarding and speculation.

Meanwhile, at a ‘‘routine’’ monsoon meeting today, chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, the state of preparedness for the monsoon was reviewed by senior officials of the ministry.

Representatives from the ministries of water resources, power, agriculture, food and others were present but Meteorological Deprtment officials were absent.