Chandigarh, Apr 12 (PTI) The Centre on Tuesday formed five teams to assess the shrivelled grains because of the early onset of the heatwave, following a request by the Punjab government for revisiting the specifications in the wheat purchase.
A spokesperson of the state government said these teams will arrive in Punjab on Wednesday and visit fifteen districts to get a first-hand assessment of the extent of shrivelled grain arriving in the mandis.
“This data will then help the government of India in taking a final decision on grant of appropriate relaxation in the specifications,” the spokesperson added.
Punjab Food and Civil Supplies Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak said the sudden heatwave, which started quite early from the last week of March itself and continued over the last two weeks, has caused the wheat grain to shrivel.
It is unfair to refuse to purchase any heap brought in by the farmer, which has a higher percentage of shrivelled grains than what is prescribed, he added.
The secretary of food civil supplies and consumer affairs had written a demi official letter to the secretary, food and public distribution, the Government of India, requesting him to allow relaxation in specifications of shrivelled grains for the wheat crop coming in the mandis.
Notably, the Centre has allowed only six per cent of shrivelled grain in the wheat being purchased, whereas the percentage of shrivelled grain is observed to be much higher in many parts of the state. The spokesperson further said that during the visits of these teams, the ongoing purchase in certain mandis may be temporarily disrupted and he appealed to the farmers and the functionaries of the procurement agencies to cooperate in this regard. PTI CHS VSD BAL BAL BAL
