Rice sent from Punjab to Arunachal, Nagaland ‘unfit for consumption’
By Kanchan Vasudev
The political row between the Centre and Punjab over ‘tardy’ procurement of paddy this season has now taken a new twist with the quality of rice (sent from Punjab) being called into question. Samples of rice collected from the stock supplied to at least two consumer states (Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh) have either been found to be “unfit for human consumption or beyond rejection limit (BRL)”.
The rice supplied to “Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam and Nagaland have been found to be unfit for human consumption”, a Punjab government official, requesting anonymity, revealed.
Consequently, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has written to Food Corporation of India (FCI) to check the quality of grains stored in Sangrur, Jalandhar and Nabha FCI districts, from where the stocks were moved to the recipient states. The ministry in its letter (written on November 13) to FCI has also asked the officials to remove the stocks ‘unfit for human consumption’ from the food chain. It has also asked the FCI to check why this was happening.
Recently, 11,241 quintals of rice was sent to Dimapur (Nagaland) and Assam. On November 12 and 13, the samples of these rice failed the quality test.
As many as 18 wagons with 23,097 quintals of rice had insect infestation. The fortified rice was also under par (below standard). According to an official document, a copy of which is with The Indian Express, “The wagons with rice from Sangrur were unloaded on November 12 and 13 at Dimapur (Nagaland) and found to be infested/BRL.”
Speaking to The Indian Express, the state government official, on the condition of anonymity, said that it was none of its (Punjab) fault. “Our paddy was procured two years ago. Milled and fortified rice was supplied to FCI a few months after that. Now, we are not in the picture. If they are moving rice two years after milling, how can we say anything about the infestation? It is up to FCI. They had to store it well and make sure there was no insect infestation.After a seller supplies grains to a purchaser, the seller’s responsibility ends there. If the purchaser is not able to maintain the quality of the grains, we cannot be blamed. Our farmers supplied paddy. Our millers milled it. We got our cash credit limit. They cannot blame the millers now. When the milled rice was handed over to FCI, it was in good condition,” the official added.
Tarsem Saini, president of Punjab Rice Millers’ Association, however, said that FCI will haul up the millers eventually. “They will ask us to replace the rice which has been found to be damaged. Why blame us when they are not willing to move the rice to consumer states at the right time. These are foodgrains and not bricks. These have a shelf life and also, if not cared for, these get infested with insects,” he said.
Saini said he could smell a conspiracy against Punjab in the whole “game”. “It is clear that they are doing all this deliberately. They want to show that Punjab’s rice is not required. When it is supplied then they say it is not of good quality. They want to force the farmers to diversify from rice without helping them with any diversification plan. It is just a discrediting campaign against the state.”
He alleged that it was under this entire game plan that Punjab’s rice was not moved out of godowns which had eventually led to problems of lifting. “Why would farmers grow rice if they know the godowns are already full”This is the first time that the ministry of food has complained about the quality of rice in four states, Saini said, adding that “it used to happen earlier also but this time it has happened in four states. In the past they have asked the millers to replace the stock. They have not asked us anything yet. Let us see”.
On October 23 this year, the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD), Government of India, had written a letter to FCI about an inspection conducted on Food Storage Depots (FSDs) in FCI district Banderdewa, Arunachal Pradesh. During the inspection a total of 19 rice samples were collected.
The letter (a copy of which is with The Indian Express) stated, “Based on the analysis reports, 15 samples out of total 19 were found to be beyond rejection limit (BRL) as per the Uniform Specifications issued by the DFPD, and 3 samples were found beyond FSSAI standards i.e. unfit for human consumption.”
The communication added, “Arunachal Pradesh is a non-DCP state and does not carry out procurement operations, hence, receives foodgrains from other states. In the said case, the source of the samples that are unfit for human consumption (i.e. beyond FSSAI limit) is FCI district Sangrur, Punjab. The presence of such quality of the stock raises serious concerns about the overall quality of the stock at both the FCI district Sangrur, Punjab, and FCI district Banderdewa, Arunachal Pradesh.Further, the deliberation of the analysis results clearly depicts the grave and serious shortcomings in the duties of the districts’ officers, officials and authorities involved in the whole channel from procurement to distribution. Therefore, the personnel concerned shall be identified since the lack of adherence to their responsibilities has led to serious implications that may hamper the food security of the state. The unfit for human consumption stock shall be immediately removed from the food chain to avoid detrimental effect on health of the beneficiaries under PDS.”
It further said, “It has been decided by the competent authority that the FCI shall verify the quality of foodgrains preserved at all godowns for the crop year 2022-23 and 2023-24 under the FCI district Sangrur, Punjab Region, and FCI district Banderdewa, Arunachal Pradesh Region. The detailed report of such assessment may be submitted within 15 days to the ministry. Thereafter, on examination of the assessment report, the ministry in its supervising capacity may also cross-verify the assessed stock. The complete action taken report in the said matter may be furnished to the ministry within 30 days of the issue of this letter.”
This article has been republished from The Indian Express.