Lok Sabha Question No. 386 (STARRED), answered on 2019-01-08
Subject: Farm Storage Facilities
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: VINCENT H PALA

## MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 386 TO BE ANSWERED ON 08 JANUARY, 2019

## FARM STORAGE FACILITIES

- *386. SHRI VINCENT H. PALA:

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 any steps have been taken to improve farm storage facilities in light of the 1.95 lakh MT of foodgrains wasted in India between 2005 and March 2013;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether any steps have been taken to expand the storage facilities with the Food Corporation of India across different States;
- (d) if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the  steps  taken  to  phase  out  the  Cover  and  Plinth  (CAP)  storage method?

A N S W E R MINISTER OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI RAMVILAS PASWAN)

- (a) to (e): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

****

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  to  (e)  OF  THE  STARRED QUESTION NO. 386 DUE FOR ANSWER ON 08.01.2019 IN THE LOK SABHA

(a)  to  (e):    Food  Corporation  of  India  (FCI)  handled  a  quantity  of  3,135.54  Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT) of foodgrains for the Public Distribution System (PDS) during the years from 2005-06 to 2012-13, excluding the stocks procured under the DeCentralised  Procurement  (DCP).  Against  this,  a  quantity  of  1.934  LMT  got damaged due to various reasons.

On  the  basis  of  peak  stock  requirement  during  normal  procurement season, the overall storage capacity required for Central Pool Food Grains in the country is about 650 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT). Against this, the total storage capacity  available  with  Food  Corporation  of  India  (FCI),  Central  Warehousing Corporation  (CWC)  and  the  State  Agencies  (both  owned  and  hired  capacity),  is 875.09  LMT  as  on  30.11.2018  comprising  747.66  LMT  in  covered  godowns  and 127.43  LMT  in  Cover  and  Plinth  (CAP)  storage.  As  such,  there  is  sufficient capacity for storage of central pool foodgrains at the national level.

However, depending on requirement in specific areas and for modernization  of  storage  facilities,  Government  has  been  implementing  the following  schemes  for  construction  of  godowns  and  silos  in  the  country  for Central Pool Stock of foodgrains:

- i. Private Entrepreneurs Guarantee (PEG) Scheme: Under this Scheme, which was  formulated  in  2008,  storage  capacity  is  created  by  private  parties, Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) and State Government Agencies for guaranteed hiring by Food Corporation of India (FCI). A capacity of 142.02 LMT has been created as on 30.11.2018 since the inception of this scheme.
- ii. Central  Sector  Scheme:  Under  this  scheme,  FCI  directly  gets  godowns constructed  in  the  North  Eastern  States  along  with  a  few  other  States. Since,  2012-13  till  30.11.2018,  a  total  capacity  of  1,52,290  MT  has  been created by FCI.
- iii. Construction  of  Steel  Silos:  Government  of  India  has  also  approved  an action plan for construction of steel silos in the country for a capacity of 100 LMT in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode for modernizing storage infrastructure and improving shelf life of stored foodgrains. As on 30.11.2018, silos of 6.25 LMT capacity have been created.

The storage of foodgrains in  the  CAP  is  resorted  to  by  FCI  only  for  short duration during the peak procurement season. Food stocks kept in CAP by FCI has reduced over the years as per details given under:

| Stocks as on   |   FCI (in LMT) |
|----------------|----------------|
| 01.06.2013     |          22.63 |
| 01.06.2014     |          15.89 |
| 01.06.2015     |           5.31 |
| 01.06.2016     |           2.65 |
| 01.06.2017     |           3.42 |
| 01.06.2018     |           9.2  |
| 01.01.2019     |           1.12 |