House panel criticises govt for missing FCI godown construction target

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A Parliamentary panel on Monday pulled up the government for not meeting the godown construction target in the last four years till September 2024 and asked the nodal ministry to constitute a high-level committee to expedite the progress in northeast and hilly states.

In the sixth report on demand for grants for 2024-25 placed in Parliament, the Standing Committee on Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said that against the target of godown construction with 50,100-tonne capacity in 2023-24, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) could achieve only 1,760-tonne capacity, utilising Rs 52.75 crore.

For 2024-25, the target was to construct 58,540-tonne capacity, "but the achievement till September 30 has been nil", the report said.

FCI could not achieve the physical target of construction of godowns for 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 till September in the wake of the implementation of the National Food Security Act, it added.

The committee also expressed concern over the lack of progress made in the construction of godowns in the northeastern region and said the reasons like delay in land acquisition from the state governments, harsh topographical conditions and inclement weather -- are not new but better planning should have been put in place.

"...the planning should have been taken into consideration these realities of the northeast and hilly states and accordingly, the implementation strategy of the plans should have been formulated," it said.

The committee recommended the government to constitute a high-level panel including state officials to address these issues effectively, expedite the progress and achieve the targets, the report said.

On the construction of silos, the committee emphasised the importance of ensuring the uniform distribution of these silos across the country, especially in wheat-consuming states, in a systematic and well-coordinated manner.

It is crucial that the construction of the silos is completed within a specified time period. Additionally, the government should encourage to actively promote the involvement of private enterprises in this endeavour and achieve the targets set in this regard to improve the efficiency of Silo operations, according to the report.

Silos with a capacity of 24.25 lakh tonne are under implementation at various locations throughout the country, out of which a capacity of 17.75 lakh tonne  are completed and the remaining 6.5 lakh tonne are under various stages of development.

Observing that there are a large number of complaints regarding under weighment by the fair price shops dealers, the committee suggested the government to take all necessary steps to persuade states to integrate all the electronic weigh-scale with every Electronic Point of Sale Devices.