10 lakh tonnes of rotten foodgrains in FCI

New Delhi, Jul 2: Just a few days after Bush blamed Indian middle-class for the overall food shortage in the world, it is interesting to note that still 1 crore go hungry. Now, what may Bush say to this...

But, this did not happen as over 10 lakh tonnes of foodgrains worth several hundred crores of rupees were damaged in Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns during the last one decade. The damages were suffered despite the FCI spending Rs 242 crore while trying to prevent any loss of foodgrains during storage. Ironically another 2.59 crore was spent just to dispose off the rotten foodgrains. These startling facts came in reply to a Right to Information (RTI) application filed by a Delhi resident. FCI informed that 10 lakh tonnes of foodgrain was damaged in the godowns of government owned agency which is responsible for procurement and distribution of foodgrains across the country.

The FCI informed that 1.83 lakh tonnes of wheat, 3.95 lakh tonnes of rice, 22 thousand tonnes of paddy and 110 tonnes of maize were damaged between 1997 to 2007.

Is it not a national shame? asks RTI applicant Dev Ashish Bhattacharya.

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