Centre accepts Capt Amarinder’s request to relax wheat norms

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 26

The Centre has accepted Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s request for relaxation in wheat norms for procurement in the current season, on account of loss due to unseasonal rain.

The Chief Minister had earlier this week written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to ease the norms for procurement of wheat in view of the losses incurred by farmers due to the unseasonal rain.

Responding to the request, the central government has decided to procure wheat in the state with relaxation on provisional basis in the uniform specifications of the crop during the rabi marketing season 2019-20. The relaxation comes into immediate effect and will remain till the final analysis report of a joint team is received. 

Disclosing this here, a spokesperson of the Food and Civil Supplies Department said that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs Food & Public Distribution, GoI, had conveyed its decision to the State Food and Civil Supplies Department. It had been decided by the Centre to allow purchase of lustre lost wheat containing up to 10 per cent kernels without any value cut.

The Ministry has also allowed percentage relaxation in lustre lost wheat on district-wise basis by allowing percentage of relaxation up to 50% in the districts of Bathinda, Faridkot, Mukhtsar and Ferozepur, while relaxation percentage up to 75 per cent has been allowed in the Fazilka and Hoshiarpur districts.

Lustre lost wheat containing more than 10 per cent and up to 75 per cent affected kernels may be purchased with 1/4^th of one value cut on flat basis. The wheat so procured would be stacked and accounted for separately. Wheat stocks procured under relaxed specification would be liquidated on overriding priority basis, according to the spokesperson.