Sops offered to make decentralised grain procurement popular

The Centre will bear the cost of local transportation of paddy and gunny bags, besides offering some other fiscal sops, to encourage the states to participate in the decentralised grain procurement operations.

Local organisations, such as village societies, undertaking grain procurement will be given a commission equal to 1 per cent of the minimum support price by the Centre.

A commission of around 25 paise per kg will be given to fair price shops for selling wheat and rice at Rs 2 and Rs 3 per kg, respectively, under the Antyodaya Anna Yojna. This will cost the Centre about Rs 200 crore annually.

These were among the several decisions taken at the state food ministers' conference held, here, today under the chairmanship of Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar. Food ministers of over 22 states attended the conference.

The meeting endorsed all the 13 recommendations made by the conference of state food secretaries held earlier on September 17.

These included asking the Planning Commission to revisit the criteria for identifying below poverty line (BPL) households entitled to receive highly subsidised foodgrain and issuing of ration entitlement authority slips to migrant labour and other vulnerable sections not covered by the PDS.