As monsoon gradually progresses into the country after initial delay, Union Food Minister K V Thomas has written to chief ministers of all states, underlining the problems within their procurement agencies.
Specifically, he has pointed to a lack of qualified staff for maintaining quality specifications during the procurement process. “During the inspection of procurement centres,” Thomas wrote, “It has been observed that many of the staff deputed for procurement of foodgrains by the state agencies are not technically qualified and not fully aware of the quality specifications of foodgrains issued by this department.”
This, the minister said, leads to procurement of lower quality of foodgrain, which further deteriorate in storage. He said information from state governments on the number of quality control staff in various centres and their technical competence indicate most do not have a strong foodgrain quality control mechanism.
The country’s official foodgrain stocks were estimated at 82 million tonnes as on June 6. Of this, rice comprised 32 mt and wheat 49 mt. This is almost 10 mt more than the stocks last year and almost 16 mt more than the available storage space with both Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state agencies.
“I would request you,” Thomas’ letter asked the CMs, “to instruct the food department in your state to review the existing quality control mechanism in terms of technical competence and gap in manpower requirement, and inform the central government about the position, along with the steps taken to strengthen the quality control mechanism.”
The food ministry has also offered to impart training on quality control to state government staff in the Indian Grain Storage Management and Research Institute in Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, to ensure better management of stored grain.
FCI’s take more for less idea
Meanwhile, FCI has planned to give financial incentives to states which lift and distribute six months’ quota of foodgrain allocated for the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) in one go.
Usually, states are allocated a fixed quota of grain every month. However, with its bulging stocks, the central government has offered states the option to lift six months of their allocation in advance.
“This would involve a huge financial burden on the states as they would have to shell out the six months’ money in one step. To lessen that, the government is planning to give some rebate to states which lift their entire quota,” a senior official said. The measure would create additional storage space for 22 mt, if all states decide to avail the facility and take their allocation. The central government allocates around 3.65 mt of grain each month to states for the TPDS. Of this 2.06 mt is rice and 1.5 mt wheat.
