95 LMT grain moved out of Punjab on 2,684 rakes: Bittu

Union Minister of State for Railways and Food Processing Industries Ravneet Singh Bittu on Sunday said as part of substantial efforts to transport foodgrains of Punjab, 95 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of foodgrain had already lifted as of October 24.

From April to October, 95.16 LMT of paddy and wheat were transported from Punjab through 2,684 dedicated rake movements, freeing up additional storage capacity in the state.

After chairing a high-level meeting with officials of Food Corporation of India (FCI) in the backdrop of growing concerns over paddy procurement, management and storage in Punjab, the minister said Punjab’s paddy production was estimated to reach 212 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT) this season, with approximately 49.88 LMT having been procured already.

Punjab currently has a total storage capacity of 133.57 LMT, which includes FCI-owned storage capacity of 34.34 LMT and an additional 99.23 LMT of hired capacity. At present, 116.2 LMT of rice and 58.07 LMT of wheat, i.e., a total of 174.27 LMT, was stored in Punjab.

The meeting was attended by Punjab FCI General Manager B Srinivasan and other senior FCI officials who briefed the minister on the current state of paddy procurement and storage.

The Union Minister said that earlier, the allotment of storage for paddy and wheat was done separately, but that this time, permission has been given to store paddy instead of wheat wherever required. Moreover, he emphasised that Rs 44,000 crore has been allocated for MSP payments to ensure that farmers receive fair and timely remuneration for their produce.