BJP rakes up wheat import issue yet again
The Maharashtra BJP, which was busy with Gujarat elections, has revived its pet peeve - the wheat import controversy.
By TNN |
MUMBAI: The Maharashtra BJP, which was busy with Gujarat elections, has revived its pet peeve — the wheat import controversy. Former MP Kirit Somaiya has alleged that as much as 3,777 tonnes of wheat had been found unfit for human consumption by the state government’s laboratories.
The BJP leader claimed that the wheat belonged to the quota of 8,404 tonnes allocated to Maharashtra by the Food Corporation of India (FCI), which came through the imports made by the Union government.
Addressing a press conference on the weekend, Mr Somaiya said nearly 3,777 tonnes of wheat had been pumped into the public distribution system shops in Sindhudurg district. He also produced a copy of the letter by Sindhudurg district collector in response to his right to information query. The letter states that the state health ministry’s laboratory at Pune had found 3,777 tonnes out of the total 8,404 tonnes shipment “unfit” for human consumption.
The wheat was allocated by the FCI to Maharashtra from October 2006 onwards and it was found that out of 68 samples taken from eight government warehouses in Sindhudurg district, only 25 were certified as fit for human consumption, Mr Somaiya further alleged. The entire quota earmarked for talukas like Kudal, Kankwali, Vaibhavwadi and Vengurla was found not fit for consumption,
he added.
The collector’s reply further states that nearly 8,388.74 tonnes of wheat was distributed in Sindhudurg district through PDS and allotted to Ashram Shalas and Nariniketans run by the state for tribal children and women. “This is the worst kind of cheating of those people who are dependent on government welfare schemes for their survival,” said Mr Somaiya, while quoting from the letter. The BJP leader alleged that he was getting reports about a similar scenario in seven other districts and awaiting reply from the government.
The BJP leader also charged that the state government, after it recalled nearly 30,000 tonnes of inferior quality of imported wheat from the PDS on BJP’s complaint, tried to pump this wheat into the market through backdoor channel by pressuring flour mills and bakers to use this wheat for atta.
Mr Somaiya stated that a PIL he had filed in the Bombay High Court demanded a CBI probe into the issue and it would come up for hearing on January 14.
The BJP leader claimed that the wheat belonged to the quota of 8,404 tonnes allocated to Maharashtra by the Food Corporation of India (FCI), which came through the imports made by the Union government.
Addressing a press conference on the weekend, Mr Somaiya said nearly 3,777 tonnes of wheat had been pumped into the public distribution system shops in Sindhudurg district. He also produced a copy of the letter by Sindhudurg district collector in response to his right to information query. The letter states that the state health ministry’s laboratory at Pune had found 3,777 tonnes out of the total 8,404 tonnes shipment “unfit” for human consumption.
The wheat was allocated by the FCI to Maharashtra from October 2006 onwards and it was found that out of 68 samples taken from eight government warehouses in Sindhudurg district, only 25 were certified as fit for human consumption, Mr Somaiya further alleged. The entire quota earmarked for talukas like Kudal, Kankwali, Vaibhavwadi and Vengurla was found not fit for consumption,
he added.
The collector’s reply further states that nearly 8,388.74 tonnes of wheat was distributed in Sindhudurg district through PDS and allotted to Ashram Shalas and Nariniketans run by the state for tribal children and women. “This is the worst kind of cheating of those people who are dependent on government welfare schemes for their survival,” said Mr Somaiya, while quoting from the letter. The BJP leader alleged that he was getting reports about a similar scenario in seven other districts and awaiting reply from the government.
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The BJP leader also charged that the state government, after it recalled nearly 30,000 tonnes of inferior quality of imported wheat from the PDS on BJP’s complaint, tried to pump this wheat into the market through backdoor channel by pressuring flour mills and bakers to use this wheat for atta.
Mr Somaiya stated that a PIL he had filed in the Bombay High Court demanded a CBI probe into the issue and it would come up for hearing on January 14.
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