State readies case for relaxing wheat procurement norms

A Central Government team will visit the state next week to handle the issue of relaxation in requirements for wheat acquisition.

Adaish Partap Singh Kairon, Punjab Food and Civil Supplies Minister, said the team would draw samples of wheat from various grain markets for testing at the FCI’s regional lab here.

After testing, the team would present a report to the Union Government and inform the state government accordingly. As a next step the state would write to the Centre to seek dilution in the specifications. Kairon said it was laid down process which the state government had to follow.

Kairon said, “As wheat has started coming now, we have requested the Centre to examine the samples.”

The Centre has already lessen certain specifications for Haryana, including limit of dried up and broken grain and damage to shine of grains. But while giving relaxation in the characteristics, the Centre had imposed a value cut on the price of wheat which was to be obtained for the central pool.

In fact, the Centre Government has now announced that it would not set any cut as far as making payment to farmers is concerned who would get full minimum support price of the wheat aquired for the central pool. Interestingly, while the Centre charged value cut to procure it for the central pool, but it did not lessen the issue cost of this wheat for the PDS. This means that the Centre would get full value but it would be giving less price to the farmers by imposing value cut.

Kairon said the Punjab government would not allow any value cut because it would financially harm the farmers. Specifications used to be reduced earlier also but value cut was never imposed by the Centre.