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In times of spiralling food prices, the Food Corporation of India admits that over 1 million tonnes of foodgrain was wasted over the past decade despite efforts to limit the damage. The figures came to light following the filing of a right to information application by a Delhi resident
Around 1 million tonnes of foodgrain, which could have fed over 10 million people for a year, has instead rotted in Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns over the past decade, according to official data. The government-owned agency is responsible for the procurement and distribution of foodgrain across the country and has often come in for flak for its inept functioning. The damage occurred despite the FCI spending Rs 242 crore (Rs 2.42 billion) on attempts to prevent the loss during storage. Ironically, another Rs 2.59 crore was spent on disposing off the rotten grain! The wastage of grain, expenditure on storage and cost of disposal all add up to hundreds of crores of rupees. These startling facts came to light after a right to information (RTI) application was filed on the matter by Delhi resident, Dev Ashish Bhattacharya. In its reply the FCI reported that 183,000 tonnes of wheat, 395,000 tonnes of rice, 22,000 tonnes of paddy and 110 tonnes of maize were damaged between 1997 and 2007. The FCI added that in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi, 700,000 tonnes of foodgrain damage occurred. It spent Rs 87.15 crore (Rs 871 million) on trying to prevent the damage, and Rs 60 lakh (Rs 6 million) disposing off the damaged grain. “Keeping in view the amount of money spent by the FCI for preservation of foodgrain in its godown, the quantum of damage is huge. Is it not a national shame,” asks Bhattacharya. Similarly, in eastern India (Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal), 150,000 tonnes of foodgrain were damaged and the FCI spent Rs 122 crore (Rs 1.22 billion) on preventing it from rotting. Another Rs 1.65 crore (Rs 16 million) was spent on disposing off the spoiled foodgrain. In Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala, 43,069 tonnes of grain rotted despite the FCI spending Rs 25 crore (Rs 250 million). The grain was disposed off at a cost of Rs 34,867. While the damage to grain stored in Maharashtra and Gujarat amounted to 73,814 tonnes, the FCI spent Rs 2.78 crore (Rs 27 million) on trying to prevent the damage; Rs 24 lakh (Rs 2.4 million) was spent on disposing it off. In Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the amount of damage incurred was 23,323 tonnes and the amount spent on preventing the damage was Rs 5.5 crore (Rs 55 million). The story was no different in other godowns; the FCI spent Rs 10.64 lakh (Rs 1.1 million) on disposing off damaged foodgrain. The figures are an eye-opener given spiralling food prices and the food security situation in the country. A United Nations report claims that 63% of children in India go to bed hungry every day. Source: http://www.rediff.com/, July 2, 2008
PTI, July 1, 2008
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