Centre to get surplus rice, wheat for drought-hit states

Kolhapur: The Centre has decided to procure rice and wheat from states that have foodgrain in surplus and supply those to states reeling under drought, Union food minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Friday.
Paswan was in Kolhapur on a two-day tour to celebrate Narendra Modi-led NDA government's two years at the Centre.
The minister said the government was bound to tackle drought and vowed that people will not face any shortage of foodgrain, as the Food Corporation of India (FCI) has ample amount of stock to fulfil the requirements of drought-hit states.
"On Thursday, we formed a policy to utilise the surplus production of rice and sugar across the country. We have decided to procure the surplus products and supply it to the states hit by the drought. This policy will help both the stakeholders such as the states having surplus production and those who require foodgrain," Paswan told the media after a Lok Jan Shakti Party workers' meeting.
He said the Union government has decided to supply 5 lakh tonnes of rice and wheat to Maharashtra to tide over the drought. "It is expected from the state governments to lift the quota by October this year in phases and supply it to the needy people through the public distribution system (PDS). Recently, Maharashtra has started lifting the quota," he said.
Paswan said the NDA government, under Modi, "has effectively implemented the Food Security Act in the last two years". he said, "We have progressed on six parameters. We have blocked 1.62 crore forged ration card holders, have increased the number of states implementing the act from 11 to 33, have brought the ration cards online and have installed GPS to track vehicles carrying food grains for PDS. We have effectively linked the system with Aadhar cards and have minimised the corruption in PDS."
Buffer stock of pulses: Paswan said in the wake of the row over rise in prices of pulses, especially 'tur', the union government has decided to create a buffer stock of 1.5 lakh tonnes. "We have so far created a stock of around 1.25 lakh tonnes. It will be doubled in near future. This year, we will have stock of 1.5 lakh tonnes. I have asked the state governments to make sure that the price of tur dal does not exceed Rs 120 a kg. It is not only the Centre's responsibility to keep a tab on 'tur' dal price. The states should also have to take action against hoarders" he said.
India has an annual demand of 246 lakh tonnes of pulses, while its domestic production is 170 lakh tonnes. To meet the shortfall of 76 lakh tonnes, the country imports pluses from international market.
"The gap between the demand and supply creates the problem. But it can be tackled by close monitoring and action against the hoarders, creating a buffer stock and ensuring timely import," minister said.