M A I N   N E W S

More tests to decide fate of PAU-201
Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 29
A decision on whether the PAU-201 paddy variety is fit for human consumption is expected this week. Following a high-level meeting between Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad recently, it was decided to again send samples to three government laboratories. Officials expect a final decision on PAU-201sometime later this week.

In the meantime the Akali Dal has decided to raise the issue in both Houses of Parliament on Tuesday to “draw attention of the nation to the fact that the Government of India has been postponing a decision on the foodgrain for past nine months”.

“It is a colossal national waste, especially at a time when entire east India is reeling under drought conditions and Pakistan is going through misery due to floods and urgently require food imports. At a time like this 2.4 million tonnes of is lying in Punjab godowns. The new crop is expected within the next seven to eight weeks and there will be no place to store it” says Rajya Sabha Akali Dal member Naresh Gujral.

Incidentally, the paddy variety has not been sown in the state following reports of higher percentage of damaged and blackened grains. However the Punjab government has all along maintained that the paddy variety is fit for the Public Distribution System.

Basing its argument on test results at the Ludhiana-based Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering and Technology, Punjab says slightly blackened grain or pin-point blackened grain in the rice is due to the presence of higher iron content and therefore these grains should not be treated as damaged.

The state is also demanding that if not procured by the FCI, it may be allowed to export PAU-201 and recover losses incurred due to the grain being stored for such a long period in FCI godowns.

The PAU-201 variety was launched in 2007 by the Punjab Agriculture University for cultivation as it consumes less water compared with other traditional varieties, matures early and has the potential of giving high yield of 70 quintals per hectare.

However, millers showed reluctance to process the variety as the percentage of grain-damage exceeded even the relaxed limit conceded by the Centre to Punjab.

Ever since it was brought to the notice of the Centre that all was not well with PAU-201, there were series of meetings between Punjab and the Agriculture Ministry following which specifications for the damaged grain were relaxed first from 3 per cent to 3.5 per cent, then to 4 per cent and finally to 4.75 per cent, the maximum possible relaxation in quality specifications as far as PAU-201 is concerned.

However, millers have pegged the actual damage percentage during milling of PAU-201 between 6 and 9 per cent against the 4.75 per cent damage permitted by the FCI.