Godowns under scanner

Food ministry asks FCI to conduct inspections.

The union food ministry has asked the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to conduct random inspections at the foodgrain godowns of those states where decentralised procurement takes place.

This will be done to ensure the quality of foodgrain that is stored in them for use under the centre's public distribution system (PDS).

In such states, the procurement of foodgrain is done by the state government agencies in the name of the central government and at the minimum support price.

However, the money comes from the centre and this foodgrain is used for distribution under the centre's PDS schemes but is executed by the state government agencies that are paid incidental charges.

In case, there is a shortfall between the state's procurement and its requirement under PDS, it is supplied by FCI. And here too, the state government's concerned agency certifies the quality of the foodgrain it is receiving, before storing it in its godown.

"But whenever there is an instance of substandard quality foodgrain being found in the state government's fair price shops, the finger is pointed at the central government," said a food ministry official.

Therefore, the government wants FCI, which has a well-equipped quality control division, to survey the state government's godown on a random basis.

In the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Chattisgarh, the procurement of wheat is decentralised, while rice is decentralised in UP, Uttarakhand, Chattisgarh, West Bengal, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

There are already standing orders directing FCI to conduct random checks but this was not being followed completely, mainly due to the non-cooperation of the states.

The provocation for this comes from media reports of substandard and worm-eaten wheat being distributed through a fair price shop in an MP district, where the blame was put on the centre's PDS machinery. Other than this particular case, which happened earlier this month, there have been similar such instances recently.