FCI allows Punjab to use open plinths for wheat storage for the last time
By Gurpreet Singh Nibber
The food corporation of India (FCI) has allowed the Punjab food and civil supplies department to store wheat on the open plinths, known as covered area plinths (CAP), for the last time during the upcoming rabi procurement season. The decision was taken in the wake of a shortage of storage space in the state.
The FCI gave a leeway due to lack of storage space even as the Centre has mandated storage of food grains in covered godowns to save grains from the vagaries of the weather.
“The union government has set a deadline to end the system of storage on the open plinths by next year. Tendering and commissioning process for building new silos in Punjab by the FCI is on,” said an officer in the state food department, who didn’t wish to be named.
In Punjab, the procurement is set to start from April 1, for which all arrangements have been made. As many as 417 mandis have been set to accept the arrivals at the initial stage. A sum of ₹27,077 crore has been sanctioned by the Reserve Bank of India as a cash credit limit for the procurement of wheat.
Total arrivals in the season are expected to touch 132 lakh, and from Monday, arrivals are expected in Ropar, Patiala and Fatehgarh Sahib districts followed by lower Malwa, central Punjab, Doaba and in the last leg from April 20 in the Majha belt of the state.
This year wheat was sown over 35 lakh hectares (about 86 lakh acres), and the state agriculture department has predicted a bumper crop with a total estimated yield of 160 lakh tonnes out of which 125-135 lakh tonnes has been estimated as marketable surplus. The centre has fixed a target for Punjab to procure 130 lakh tonnes, and the state has made arrangements for the purchase of 132 lakh tonnes of wheat.
At present, the state has six lakh tonne storage space in the silos and 167 lakh tonnes in the covered godowns, out of which 48 lakh tonnes of storage area is owned and managed by the FCI while 119 lakh tonnes of storage area is under the state agencies control.
“According to our estimation, we have a shortfall of 30 lakh tonnes of storage space,” the officer added.
“We had de-hired the majority of open storage godowns in the recent past, and after the FCI orders, we have started the process to re-hire at least 40-45 lakh tonnes of capacity open plinths to facilitate storage,” the officer added.
At least 90 lakh tonnes of food grains from the previous season is stored in the state godowns. This includes 85 lakh tonnes of rice, 30 lakh tonnes from the 2022 procurement season and 55 lakh tonnes from the 2023 procurement year. There is around 8 lakh tonnes of wheat from the previous season. Adding to the stockpile, on a daily average is 1.5 lakh tonnes of freshly shelled rice, which is reaching the mandis from shelling mills.
“Each day, 27,000 to 30,000 tonnes of food grains is being shifted from Punjab to other states, and we are hopeful of making enough space for storing freshly procured grain. According to our estimation, we have a shortfall of 30 lakh tonnes of storage space,” informed an officer in the state food and civil supplies department.
This article has been republished from The Hindustan Times.