Oppn walks out after govt no to PDS for all

The Opposition today walked out of the Rajya Sabha after the government rejected its demand for universalisation of the public distribution system. Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar also pooh-poohed apprehensions of food riots in the country saying the situation was "not that bad".

He said if the Abhijit Sen committee on futures trading did not give its report in the next ten days, the government would constitute another expert committee.

Winding up a two-day discussion in the Rajya Sabha on price rise , Pawar said giving subsidised foodgrain to all sections of society was neither possible nor practical.

He said if the PDS was extended to all sections, there would be a price increase, which would hurt the interests of families living below the poverty line.

Conveying their displeasure over Pawar's statement, the Left members joined the opposition NDA and the Third Front in staging a walkout at the fag end of the reply.

Asserting that "our food position is not that bad that there will be food riots", Pawar appealed to the members not to create an atmosphere of scarcity as it could lead to "more price rise."

He said wheat buffer stocks were likely to improve as indications from the procurement in the initial period of the current season were encouraging. "I am confident we will be able to achieve the 15 million tonnes procurement target this year", he said. He said if need be, the government would release wheat in the open market to stem prices.

Pawar said foodgrain stock had slumped in the last few years because of fall in procurement and pointed out that in states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat, wheat procurement was far below expectation.

This year, the Minister said he was in touch with the Chief Ministers of these states. "I have requested the Prime Minister to call a meeting of Chief Ministers on the issue", he said.

Pawar said since prices of sunflower oil and palm oil have increased globally, their import has become dearer. But still the government has removed all types of duties to facilitate their imports, he said.

Pawar said the government has decided to import one million tonne of edible oil and give Rs 15 per litre subsidy to be sold through PDS.

Referring to a reverse situation in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal where there has been bumper crop of potato, he said that the NAFED has been asked to do market intervention and purchase the crop in UP.

The NAFED could intervene even in West Bengal if the state so desired, he said.

Referring to black marketing and hoardings of foodgrain, he said while the states have been given more powers to raid and prosecute hoarders, only five of them had taken action.

So far 20 lakh raids have been carried out in these states, he said adding that the Centre would pursue other states to act sternly against profiteers. Attributing inflation in the country to global food grain crisis, Pawar said prices of wheat and edible oil have risen sharply because many countries have started cultivating grains like corn and shifted oils towards production of bio fuel.

He rejected the opposition charge that India too was using agricultural land for cultivation of crops used for bio fuels. Pawar said the use of ethanol has been permitted by successive governments but it was obtained from waste like molasses and the cultivation of jatropha was limited to barren areas of Kutch in Gujarat.

Warning about the impact of climate change on agricultural production, he said according to a scientific presentation made before the government, the granaries of Punjab and Haryana would be affected more than other states because of this phenomenon.

He said the extra purchasing power of Rs 12,000 crore given to the people through National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme also contributed to increase i n demand for foodgrains.

Justifying the drop in foodgrain allocation to above poverty line ration card holders, Pawar said the government data showed that there were diversions, up to 100 per cent in wheat to the open market. However, he said that BPL allocation of foodgrains would not be curtailed.