NO ROTTEN FOODGRAINS IN GODOWNS
RAJYA SABHA
No incident of rotting
of wheat in Government godowns of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh
and Maharashtra or any other State has been reported. Foodgrains
are stored in FCI godowns in scientific manner and preserved by
technically trained and qualified quality control staff. Regular
and periodic inspections of stocks are carried out by the officers
of the FCI and timely prophylactic and curative treatment is carried
out for the control of insect pests.
However, due to vagaries
of weather and natural calamities like unprecedented/incessant
rains, cyclones, floods, spillage, multiple handling in storage,
transportation by rail/roads, etc. some damage does occur to foodgrains.
The quantity of such damaged foodgrains as on January 31, 2003
is 0.262 lakh MTs which works out to be 0.12% of the total stocks
holding of 203.5 lakh MTs.
The Targeted Public
Distribution System (TPDS) is regularly monitored by the senior
officers of the Ministry in close co-ordination with the officers
of the State Governments. Shortcomings if any, noticed by the
inspecting officers are brought to the notice of the State Governments
for taking the remedial measures.
A Task Force has
been set up in the Ministry to monitor the supply and distribution
of foodgrains under the Targeted Public Distribution System. State
Governments have been advised to streamline a fully functional
Public Distribution System in the vulnerable areas and to provide
uninterrupted supply and distribution of foodgrains to the same.
It has also been stressed that employment generation programmes
ought to be implemented vigorously and the State Governments have
been requested to ensure requisite measures to combat the drought
situation.
This information
was given in Rajya Sabha today by the Minister of State for Consumer
Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Shri Subhash Maharia in
a written reply.
