Storage blues for Punjab as wheat arrivals near 100 LMT
Punjab’s wheat procurement nears 100 LMT, but storage shortages and slow lifting (only ~34%) are creating mandi congestion. High damaged grain (35%) needing separate storage and limited capacity are key challenges, prompting temporary storage solutions and operational strain.
With wheat arrivals in Punjab nearly touching 100 lakh tonnes on Sunday, the procurement drive has thrown up multiple challenges for state agencies, including storing freshly procured grain and separately housing damaged stock as per the Centre’s norms and timely lifting.
The state mandis on Sunday received 5 lakh tonnes of wheat, taking the total to 99 lakh tonnes plus and according to officials of the state food department, by the end of the day, it will cross 100 lakh tonnes. The state had opened 1,872 mandis to receive an estimated 122 lakh tonnes of the rabi grain from April 1.
The procurement effectively began in mid-April, owing to late rainfall in March and the early week of April, but picked up pace thereafter with the rise in temperatures. Owing to a lack of storage space, the lifting has slowed down, leading to a glut in the mandis. Out of 100 lakh tonne that has reached mandis, only 34 lakh tonne or one-third has been lifted. On Sunday, a record 4.90 lakh tonnes of wheat was lifted from the mandis.
A team of officials led by joint secretary (policy) C Shikha from the Centre’s ministry of food and public distribution is on a two-day visit to Punjab to oversee the procurement.
On a single day during the past week, the state procurement machinery received 12 lakh tonnes of wheat. On April 17, the Union ministry for food and public distribution allowed relaxation in norms for the procurement of damaged, shrivelled and grain with loss of lustre. The central ministry allowed procurement of loss of lustre grains with an upper limit of 70%, shrivelled and broken grain up to 15% and damaged not to exceed 6%. This grain is being procured along with the good quality grain at a minimum support price of ₹2,585 per quintal.
Out of the total grain arriving and being procured in the state, at least 35% is damaged, which has to be stored separately, the officials said.
“We do not have much storage space, and segregating damaged and good quality grain at storage points poses a huge challenge,” said an official in the state food and civil supplies department, who didn’t wish to be named.
According to data from the state government, there is at least 145 lakh tonnes and 35 lakh tonnes of rice procured in the previous seasons stored in state godowns.
“Practically, there is no space to store the wheat being procured now. We have 180 lakh tonne of storage capacity, and almost the entire space is already occupied,” the above-quoted official said, adding, “We have identified temporary measures such as storing wheat in rice mills, open plinths and in the mandis.”
According to the plan of the state food and civil supplies department, 30 lakh tonne wheat is being stored in the premises of privately owned rice mills, nearly 15 lakh tonnes in the mandis and 15-20 lakh tonne in the cover area plinths (CAP storage), where wheat is stored over raised surface and covered with tarpaulin.
He added that in the current season, the wheat purchase by private players has been negligible, unlike the previous season when the trader bought nearly 9 lakh tonnes and hoped that the trend for food grain evacuation from the state to outside states will pick up in July and August months with the onset of the festival season.
Bharatiya Janata Party state president Sunil Jakhar on Sunday expressed suspicion of a scam in the purchase of old gunny bags by the Punjab government and has written to Union food and public distribution minister Pralhad Joshi, seeking an investigation.
Jakhar said that old gunny bags available in the market for around ₹22 each have allegedly been purchased by the AAP government— which claims to be ‘fiercely honest’—at ₹43.89 per bag. He said that allegations of a scam have surfaced in this matter, and therefore, it should be investigated. In his letter, he said that under the decentralised procurement scheme (DCP), the Punjab government is using old gunny bags for filling wheat. However, the expenditure on purchasing these old gunny bags raises serious concerns of corruption, he said, demanding that a thorough investigation be conducted to get to the root of the matter.
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Source : Hindustan Times
