Pawar and his officials did not explain that the figure of 11,700 tonnes they were quoting only counted the grain rotting in state warehouses. They left out the grain stored by the Food Corporation of India, the nation's main repository of wheat and rice purchased from farmers.
Samar Halarnkar and
Bhadra Sinha report.
The government on Thursday decided to release an additional 2.5 million tonnes of foodgrains to states for distribution among the poor, following a reprimand from the Supreme Court over rotting foodgrains despite hungry millions. Tracking hunger
Taking exception to Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar's statement, the Supreme Court today asserted that it had ordered free distribution of foodgrains to the poor instead of allowing them to rot in godowns and it was not a suggestion as made out by him.
Special: Tracking HungerTo battle hunger and malnutrition, we first need to know where they exist. As of now, the State’s data is sketchy, writes Manoj Kumar.
Food minister Sharad Pawar said on Thursday that it was unfeasible to distribute state-held grain for free, a non-binding suggestion made by the Supreme Court. HT reports. Tracking hunger
If you can’t store foodgrain, distribute it free to the poorest. That’s Supreme Court’s order to the Central government, faced with the shocking wastage of lakhs of tonnes of grain, rotting in the open.
Bhadra Sinha reports.
There is a huge shortage of warehousing in India. But a hostile policy environment is discouraging private investment.
Varghese K George reports.
Loss in numbersThe idea of using the unique identity (UID) programme to reform the public distribution system (PDS) appears to be gathering steam with Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi signalling her support for it. Liz Mathew & Surabhi Agarwal report.
Rocked by the rot in its granaries,
India has moved several changes in its botched warehousing policy and sought Chinese help in firming up storage. Half measures, however, may not work.
Zia Haq reports.
As part of the country's plan to create additional covered storage facility of 150 lakh metric tonnes in the next two years, Pungrain -- a Punjab government procurement agency -- has been inviting private parties to set up their godowns.
Manish Tiwari reports.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday reacted to
Hindustan Times’s report on grain rotting in the country for want of storage facilities saying it was a crime to waste food in a poor country.
Special
Storing in the open gives FCI officials the sanction to buy many more gunny bags, wooden crates, tarpaulin sheets and fumigating material, all in the name of preserving the grain well.
Manish Tiwari reports.
Some 48,315 tonnes of wheat procured by the Punjab government are to be fed to cattle after being declared unfit for human consumption. The stock, enough to feed about 7.1 million people a month through the public distribution system (PDS), had piled up over the previous three years.
A day after the Prime Minister urged a quick start to a national food-security network, it has emerged that his government may let foodgrain — enough to feed 140 million poor people for a month — rot, instead of spending money and effort distributing it to the poor, report
Samar Halarnkar and
Manpreet Randhawa.
See special |
Criminal wastageSought for their nimble hands and low height, Rajasthani children help pollinate fields of genetically modified cotton in Gujarat. With social-security schemes faltering, even a state vigil can’t stop the night runs of traffickers, reports Urvashi Dev Rawal.