)
Parliament today passed a bill seeking to absolve the government of its responsibilities as a guarantor of the 'mini-ratna' Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), with the Rajya Sabha giving its nod to the measure.
The Warehousing Corporations (Amendment) Bill 2015, which was passed in the Rajya Sabha by a voice vote, was passed by the Lok Sabha on March 18 this year.
Moving the bill, Food Minister Ramvilas Paswan said it aimed to grant more financial independence for CWC.
Also Read
He said declaring CWC as a 'mini ratna' was a matter of prestige but it also necessitated these amendments. However, he made it clear that the move should not be seen as an issue of privatisation, allaying concerns expressed by some members.
The Minister said the UPA government had initiated the process of legislation, which the present government was taking forward and urged the members to support its passage.
He also said the Bill empowered the organisation to take decisions to spend up to Rs 500 crore.
Paswan also said some states had implemented the Food Security Act while others were following different schemes. Both kind of systems have their own merits. Implementation of this Act could bring down corruption in Public Distribution System, Paswan said.
During the discussion on the bill, P L Punia (Congress) stressed that the move would pave the way for the profit-making CWC to have joint ventures.
Pointing out that private investments must be roped in, Punia said people with land at prime locations wanted to set up warehouses, as he sought the setting up more cold storages to preserve fruits and vegetables.
Chaudhary Munavver Saleem (SP) said that crores of rupees worth of foodgrains were being wasted every year as per media reports, while K C Tyagi (JD-U) said the government should develop warehouses on its own and not in partnership with the private sector.
