Badal meets PM, seeks help in procuring, storing foodgrains

New Delhi, Feb 2 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister ParkashSingh Badal today met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and soughthis "direct and immediate" intervention for putting in placean effective mechanism for smooth procurement and storage offoodgrains.

Badal apprised the Prime Minister of the problems beingfaced by the state government on foodgrains procurement andstorage fronts.

Punjab procures 110 lakh tonnes of wheat and 140 lakhtonnes of paddy every year and there is an acute shortageof storage space for these essential commodities, he said.

He said the state government was executing a pilotproject for construction of silos for storage of wheat and aproposal for the same has been sent to the Union Food Ministryfor approval.

Badal also told the Prime Minister that incidentalcharges amounting to Rs 4000 crore are to be reimbursed to thestate since 2003-04 and the case is pending with the centralgovernment. PTI SKU