Punjab CM meets Union Min Paswan, discusses Rs 31000 cr food account loan issue

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday met Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan to discuss Rs 31000 crore food account loan issue.

Paswan has accepted Captain Amarinder's request to hold a joint meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to resolve the issue, the Chief Minister's official spokesperson said after the meeting.

The Union Minister has also agreed to allow Punjab to create additional storage space to enable the state to address the problem of acute shortage of storage space in this Rabi season. Modalities for the same will soon be worked out, said the spokesperson.

Captain Amarinder also succeeded in securing relaxation in lustre loss in wheat, resulting from the unseasonal heavy rains that lashed the state during the season.

During his meeting, the Chief Minister pointed out the Rs 31000 crore food loan legacy issue, inherited from the previous government had already been referred to a special committee headed by Member NITI Aayog Ramesh Chand, who is also the Member of 15th Finance Commission.

The Committee has been mandated to look into all aspects of the Legacy Debt of Punjab government arising out of accumulated CCL (Food Credit Gap) with reference to Food Corporation of India/Department of Food and Public Distribution. The Chief Minister sought Paswan's personal intervention to expedite the matter.