Steps being taken to Create Additional Foodgrains Storage Capacity and minimize loss

Allocation and lifting

• Due to current high level of stocks of foodgrains in the Central Pool, in addition to normal annual allocations of foodgrains under TPDS and other welfare schemes, the Government has allocated an additional quantity of 50 lakh tonnes of foodgrains for BPL families in the month of May and another 50 lakh tonnes of foodgrainsfor APL families in the month of June.  Another 50 lakh tonnes of foodgrains will be allocated shortly for 150 poorer districts, as mandated by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, modalities of which are being worked out.
• To ensure that these additional allocations reach the targeted groups, the Government of India has been repeatedly emphasizing to State Governments to lift the additional allocated food grains and distribute the same expeditiously.
• The Government of India has also been continuously monitoring the lifting by State Governments and is also considering six months’ lump-sum allocation at a time for distribution to the targeted groups.
• This will help in faster evacuation of stocks from the Central Pool, particularly in States which have seen much higher level of procurement of wheat than was earlier expected, e.g., Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
• Instructions have also been given to FCI that FCI depots in various States should have adequate quantity of stocks for being utilized by the State Governments.  For this purpose, optimum movement of foodgrains to different States, particularly to the deficit States is being ensured.

Proper upkeep of stocks

• The Government is taking all necessary steps to ensure that stocks are safely kept and proper quality control measures are taken for the same.
• State Governments have also been requested to issue suitable instructions for safe upkeep of stocks.
• FCI has also been directed to hire as much additional godown space from private sources as possible to supplement its efforts for proper storage of foodgrains.

Creation of storage capacity

• Government is taking steps to create new additional covered storage capacity of more than 152 lakh MTs across 19 States under the Private Enterpreneur Guarantee (PEG) Scheme with the help of privateenterpreneus, CWC and SWC with a 10-year guarantee by FCI.
• By March 2012, 40 lakh MTs of new covered storage capacity will be created under this scheme.
• The State Governments are also being requested to introduce similar guarantee scheme for their own storage needs through similar PPP model.
• An additional new capacity of 5.4 lakh tonnes is proposed to be created in the North Eastern States by Government of India under a special plan scheme.  This will ensure that at least four months’ stocks are kept in North Eastern States at any point of time.
• Instructions have also been given to FCI for introducing mechanization of foodgrains handling and optimum utilization of existing storage space with FCI and Government agencies.

Movement Plan

• The Ministry is in constant touch with Railway authorities to ensure that timely movement of foodgrains takes place to consuming/deficit States and to also free up storage space in the surplus States.

Revamping of Public Distribution System

• There is an ambitious programme for the revamping of PDS system currently on the anvil. The computerization of Public Distribution Data and making the PDS data ADHAR compatible are already afoot in various States. States like Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chattisgarh are going ahead in this regard.

Foodgrains losses and damages

• Due to large handling of foodgrains undertaken by FCI and other Government agencies, some storage and transit loss do occur due to various reasons.  However, due to constant efforts being undertaken to reduce such losses, the storage and transit losses of FCI have come down over the years.  Furthermore, quantity of damaged foodgrains with FCI has also been continuously coming down.
• The damaged foodgrains with FCI, which was 2.12 lakh tonnes in 1999-2000 came down to 0.34 lakh tonnes in the year 2007-08 and only 0.07 lakh tonnes in the year 2009-10 and 0.06 lakh tonnes during 2010-11.