Punjab foodgrain issue reaches PM

The alleged disappearance of foodgrains worth crores in Punjab today reached Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal seeking cash credit limit of Rs 20,094 crore to resolve the crisis to enable timely payment to farmers for procured wheat.
Badal, during a meeting with Modi here, explained the state's position with regard to discrepancies in accounts of foodgrain stocks while denying that the state made any diversion of funds meant for procurement purposes, sources said.
Due to foodgrains going "missing" from state's godowns and alleged discrepancies in foodgrain stocks of FCI and Punjab government, fresh loans by banks for procurement of wheat have been held up leading to delay in start of this season.

RBI has asked banks lending to Punjab for grain procurement to account for such "bad loans" before providing fresh ones.
Punjab Chief Minister's Advisor Harcharan Bains said after the meeting that Badal told the PM that the inordinate delay in CCL clearance would jeopardize the ongoing procurement operations and could lead to disaffection in the farming community which might lead to law and order complications.
The meeting lasted for around 20 minutes and Bains claimed that Modi assured Badal of positive action and said he would get this issue resolved on priority.
"The farmer needs his country to stand by him in his hour of extreme adversity and distress. The government must come to his rescue and repay a part of the debt which we always owe him," Badal told the Prime Minister.

Punjab's Food and Civil Supplies Minister Adaish Partap Singh Kairon also accompanied the Chief Minister during his meeting with the Prime Minister.