TAKE STOCK OF FOODGRAIN DISTRIBUTION POLICY, ASHU WRITES TO UNION MINISTER

CHANDIGARH: Punjab food supplies and consumer affairs minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu on Friday wrote to Union food minister Ram Vilas Paswan to press for a comprehensive policy on foodgrain distribution. In his letter, Ashu specifically mentioned that the policy must have as one its major goals the proper distribution of foodgrain to areas of the country that were prone to starvation.

“It is of concern that that the country faces the paradoxical situation of overflowing food stocks in Punjab, awaiting release on one hand, and people dying of hunger in other states,” the letter says, seeking Paswan’s personal intervention.

“Our godowns are full with foodgrain and such stock is prone to rotting and damage due to the vagaries of nature. The situation, as such, warrants immediate policy intervention to ensure the availability of foodgrain to the poor in grain-deficit states,” said Ashu.

Rajewal claimed that Paswan, however, expressed his helplessness, claiming that the minister told stakeholders from Punjab and Haryana that it was the Union finance ministry that had proposed the changes and the at this stage, only intervention from the Prime Minister’s Office could stop the changes being made.

BKU general secretary Harinder Singh Lakhowal; Punjab Arhtiya Association president Ravinder Singh Cheema, and Haryana Arhtiya Association president Ashok Gupta were also part of the delegation.

“The procurement system in Punjab and Haryana is developed. For 60 years now, arhtiyas have been playing a vital role in driving the procurement system. In these two states, there are competitive rates and there is no corruption in procurement of foodgrain, unlike the rest of the states,” said Gupta, claiming that he told the minister to transfer the procurement system of these two states to the rest of the country, rather than the other way round.