Increasing food grain storage capacity top agenda: Ram Vilas

Increasing storage capacity to minimise food grains rotting was the top priority of the new government, Union Food and Public Distribution minister Ram Vilas Paswan said today.
"Due to lack of storage facilities so much of food grains rot every year. We are chalking out plans on how to increase the storage capacity. It is the top priority in our 100 day agenda," Paswan told reporters.
The issue of food grains decay was prominently raised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the election campaign.
He had repeatedly referred to an order by the Supreme Court to distribute the food grains rotting in the open, which he said the UPA government did not do.

Paswan said Bihar was far behind in storage of food grains and the state government did not follow the rules prescribed for their safe storage.
Paswan was interacting with media at Lok Janshakti Party state headquarters on his first visit home after becoming the Union Minister Food and Consumer Affairs.

He also said that among other prime concerns of the central government was to ensure the Right To Food, Public Distribution System for the poor, proper remuneration to farmers for their produce, and the issues plaguing the sugarcane industry.
His ministry would pay proper attention toward clearing the dues of sugarcane farmers, he said.

"My ministry is working on these issues. I will organise a press conference within a week and outline the measures we are going to take," said Paswan.
His MP son Chirag Paswan criticised former chief minister Nitish Kumar's claim of hoisting a person from the Mahadalit community to the Bihar chief minister's chair.
"Actually Jitan Ram Manjhi has been made a sacrificial goat by Nitish Kumar to hide his defeat in the general elections... If he is true to his claim, he should pass a resolution and declare Manjhi as his party's face in the 2015 Assembly Elections," said Chirag, who is also the LJP Parliamentary Board chairman.

Asked if M A A Fatmi, who quit RJD was likely to join LJP, Paswan said he spoke to him over phone yesterday, but there was no discussion on joining his party.