K. V. Thomas warns states to lift off their grains or loose procurement quota

New Delhi, July 21 (ANI): Food Minister KV Thomas has asked the states to expedite the procurement of 15 million tonnes of specially allocated foodgrains.

Talking to reporters after meeting with Food Ministers and secretaries of seven states here on Wednesday, Thomas said: "We have told the states if their offtake of these special allocations are less than 50 percent, then we will allocate the remaining quantity to those states where the offtake is better."

Thomas emphasised on the need to increase lifting of allotments under Above Poverty Line (APL) and Below Poverty Line (BPL) categories by states to free up storage space and help in movement of foodgrains.

Preparedness for the enactment of the proposed Food Bill was also discussed and states were asked to get ready in all respect to implement its provisions.

Keeping this year's bumper harvest in mind, Thomas proposed warehouses that would provide farmers incentives of financial assistance along with providing storage facilities for abundant grains.

"Now we are bringing registered warehouses where farmers can store their products and as for the voucher received from registered houses, farmers can get financial assistance from the banks at a very nominal interest," said Thomas.

Thomas said the damage to foodgrains had come down from 2.5 per cent in 2007-08 to 0.07 per cent this year.

Meanwhile answering a question on wheat and rice exports, Thomas said the decision on the proposal to export two million tonnes of wheat was postponed due to dip in international price of wheat.

"In the case of rice, one million tonnes have been agreed. Now it is for the Commerce Ministry to bring out the formalities and norms for the export. Regarding wheat export, there was a general agreement; it has been postponed. The final decision has been postponed to next week," he said.

Food Ministers and food secretaries of Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh were present at the meeting.

The meeting was held against the backdrop of record production and procurement of food grains by both the state governments and the Food Corporation of India. (ANI)