A part of the consignment imported from Australia which was found to be fit for human consumption during tests carried out in November will be sold in the open market while the rest will be disposed of in dumping grounds.
The government has decided to dispose of the wheat and also issued a resolution, Maharashtra Food and Civil Supplies minister Sunil Tatkare said.
Tatkare also made it clear that it will not be distributed on public distribution system and other government-run welfare schemes in the state. But the government has come with an open tender because some samples were found fit to be consumed, he said.
Bulk buyers like bakery owners are expected to apply for the tenders to be floated at the district level. The government has fixed Rs 670 per tonne as the base price for the wheat. A GR issued by government in November last year said, some samples were found fit to be consumed by human beings and some by only animals while the rest were not fit for anybody's consumption. It adds that if needed, re-testing of the wheat can be conducted before the tender is floated.
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Disagreeing with the move, BJP leader Nitin Gadkari said the entire wheat is now decomposed, and asked for it to be thrown away.
Over 40,000 metric tonnes of wheat is currently lying unused in over 300 godowns across the state. Maharashtra government had to withdraw sale of the red wheat November last year after all round criticism following reports that the wheat was unfit. While withdrawing the wheat, it had also conceded that the wheat contained more uric acid than the prescribed limit.
The controversy started when much of the wheat was distributed under the targeted public distribution schemes for the poor. But after analysis done by the State Public Health Laboratory, Pune, some samples were found to be unfit for human consumption.