States failed to lift foodgrains from godowns: RTI

Times of India: Shimla: Thursday, 27 November 2014.

Himachal Pradesh has contributed only 0.57 % to the national percentage of the pressure on Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns by lifting fairly well percentage of the food grains against the target fixed by the Centre through FCI in the last 10 years.

The information obtained through RTI by Dev Ashish Bhattacharya from Food Corporation Of India has revealed that in the last 10 years, around 19 Crores,88 lacs,81 thousand and 110 Metric tones (19,88,81,110 MTs) of the food grains remained un-lifted against the targetted quantum of the food grains being assigned to each state.

"Out of this national data the contribution of Himachal Pradesh was only 11 lacs,44 thousand and 670 MTs (11,44,670 MTs) which is only 0.57% of the national mismanagement," said Bhattacharya. He said now the major issues which come out of this exercise is whether this awesome quantum of unlifted food grain by the different states, against the targetted quantum, caused in massive food grain damage in different FCI godowns because of the creation of the paucity of space?

" Why the government failed to rectify the targets for each state keeping in view the actual off take by the states on year basis. What penalty the union government has imposed on various states for not lifting the targetted Food Grains each year," he added.

Bhattacharya asked whether the union government charged the godown charges from the states for storing the unlifted food grains against the assigned targets. "Since the FCI fixes the targets to lift the food grains for each state keeping in view to cater to the subsidised food grains for various poverty eradication schemes, therefore, has the union government sought reports from the states that why they have failed to lift the assigned quantum of the subsidised foodgrain meant for the marginalised citizens of the country," he added.