Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Thursday called on Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan and demanded the Centre to clear outstanding payment of Rs 31,000 crore towards grains procurement and tax reimbursement.
"There were only two issues. One is Rs 31,000 crore is pending for long time. The interest is mounting. If you don't do some solution, it will go up in the next 10 years to Rs 60,000 crore," Singh told reporters after the meeting.
Besides, the Punjab chief minister also demanded the central government to relax quality norms as the grain has lost shine due to rains during the harvesting season.
Punjab is the top state that contributes in a big way to the central pool.