Lok Sabha Question No. 1337 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-18
Subject: Storage Capacity
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: DHARAM VIRA GANDHI, SRIRAM MALYADRI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1337

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 18 DECEMBER, 2018

## STORAGE CAPACITY

1337. SHRI DHARAM VIRA: SHRI MALYADRI SRIRAM:

Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k ea=h be pleased to state:

- (a) whether a recent RTI reply revealed that 62,000 tonnes of foodgrains were damaged in the godowns of the FCI in the last 6 years and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government is planning to either reduce the procurement  according  to  its  storage  capacity  or  to  improve  its  storage capacity to tackle this problem;
- (c) the measures taken or proposed to be taken by the Government to improve its storage of the perishable foodgrains with minimum spoilage; and
- (d) the  details  of  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  minimise  the spoilage of the foodgrains procured by the FCI during its transportation?

## A N S W E R

MINISTER OF STATE FOR  CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI C. R. CHAUDHARY)

- (a): Food  Corporation  of  India  (FCI)  has  handled  (offtake)  a  quantity  of 2993.13 Lakh tonnes of foodgrains during the last 6 years from 2012-13 to 2017-18  excluding  DCP  stocks.  During  such  handling  of  huge  quantity  of stocks, a very minimal quantity of 0.61 Lakh tonnes (0.02%) got damaged due to rain, flood, cyclone, transit, negligence etc. during the last 6 years.

The  details  of  quantum  of    foodgrains  that  got  damaged  in  FCI godowns w.e.f 2012-13 to 2017-18 is tabulated as under:

| Year    |   Offtake quantity/ Quantity handled (excluding DCP States) in Lakh tonnes |   Quantity of Damage Accrued (In Lakh tonnes) | % Damaged Food grain against Offtake Quantity   |
|---------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|
| 2012-13 |                                                                     552.6  |                                         0.03  | 0.01%                                           |
| 2013-14 |                                                                     523.16 |                                         0.25  | 0.05%                                           |
| 2014-15 |                                                                     501.75 |                                         0.19  | 0.04%                                           |
| 2015-16 |                                                                     490.15 |                                         0.03  | 0.01%                                           |
| 2016-17 |                                                                     473.31 |                                         0.09  | 0.02%                                           |
| 2017-18 |                                                                     452.16 |                                         0.027 | 0.01%                                           |

- (b): There is no such plan to reduce the procurement, because sufficient capacity is available for storage of central pool foodgrains at national level.
- (c): Government  monitors  and  reviews  the  available  storage  capacity from  time  to  time  taking  into  consideration  of  procurement  of  foodgrains, offtake under Public Distribution System (PDS) and Other Welfare Schemes (OWS). Depending on requirement in specific areas and for modernization of the storage facilities, the Government has been implementing the following schemes for construction of godown and silos in the country:

## (1)

- (2)
- Private Entrepreneurs Guarantee (PEG) Scheme: Government of India has formulated Private Entrepreneurs Guarantee (PEG)  Scheme  in  the  year  2008,  for  construction  of  covered  storage capacity  through  Private  Entrepreneurs,  CWC  and  SWCs  and  other State agencies. A guarantee of hiring for 10 years is given in case of private  investors  and  9  years  in  case  of  CWC,  SWC  and  other  State agencies. Godowns are constructed by the private parties, CWC and SWC and other State agencies by arranging their own funds and lands. After  construction,  FCI  take  over  the  godown  on  guaranteed  hiring

basis.

- Central Sector Scheme: This  scheme  is  implemented  in  the  North  Esatern  States  along  with Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand and Kerala. Funds are released by the Government to FCI and also to the State Governments for construction of  godowns. The objective of the scheme is to augment the storage

capacity of foodgrains in the NE Region and other three States.

## (3) Construction of Steel Silos:

In  addition  to  conventional  godowns,  construction  of  steel  silos  has been undertaken in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode  for modernizing  storage  infrastructure  and  improving  shelf  life  of  stored foodgrains.

- (d): Government has taken following steps to  avoid  spoilage/damage  of foodgrains during transportation:
- a) After  the  placement  of  rake  each  wagon  is  inspected  for  fitness  on certain  parameters  i.e.  no  damage  in  wagon  floor,  roof  and  walls,  no dust is  accumulated on floor of wagon and wagon doors are properly closed. In case, if any wagon is found unfit on above said parameters then it is declared unfit for loading and rejected
- b) Each wagon is properly cleaned for removal of any accumulated dust like cement, fertilizer or coal which may damage foodgrains.
- c) Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) sheets are laid on wagon floor before loading of foodgrain bags.
- d) Wagons  doors  are  double  sealed  by  Railway  and  FCI  to  avoid  any outside impact on the foodgrain bags.
- e) Tarpaulins sheet is spread on platform at the time of loading/unloading of stocks from the wagons to avoid contamination of spillages.
- f) Only covered rail wagons are used for movement of foodgrains so as to avoid damage during transit.

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