CHANDIGARH: With less than a year left for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections, the AAP-led state government is once again facing an unprecedented foodgrain storage crisis.
Godowns across Punjab are already choked with around 180 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of rice from the previous three procurement seasons, while covered and plinth (CAP) storage facilities with a capacity of 60 LMT are also full.
The state has virtually run out of storage space, leaving the Food and Civil Supplies Department concerned about accommodating the upcoming paddy harvest due in October and November.
The shortage of storage has also slowed the milling of last year's paddy and raised concerns over the procurement, milling and storage of the next paddy crop. Around 45 LMT of paddy from the previous procurement season is still lying with rice millers awaiting milling. Traditionally, all milled rice is delivered to the government by the end of March. Storage capacity at rice mills and grain markets, estimated at another 30 LMT, is also fully occupied.
Sources said the state government's biggest concern is that rice millers may refuse to participate in the upcoming paddy procurement if rice is not lifted from their premises, as happened last year.
The Punjab government has urged the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution to double the monthly movement of foodgrains from Punjab to recipient states, arguing that storage space is still available in consuming states. At present, all available storage facilities in Punjab, including covered godowns, mandi yards and rice mills, are completely full.
Currently, around 6-6.5 LMT of rice and 5 LMT of wheat are transported out of Punjab every month. The state has sought an increase to 10 LMT each of rice and wheat every month from July to October, which it estimates would create nearly 80 LMT of storage space.
"If this pace continues for the rest of the year, the storage crisis could be eased. However, the Central Government has not yet responded to the request," an official said.
The official added that foodgrain movement from Punjab to recipient states has remained sluggish for the past few years and that the situation has worsened this year, with not a single godown available to store either the rice currently being milled or the upcoming paddy crop.
Punjab Rice Millers Association president Bharat Bhushan Bansal said that although the government extended the milling deadline to June 30, around 30 LMT of rice to be produced from the remaining 45 LMT of paddy will still have to be stored in government godowns.
"This process will be delayed further as rice is not being accepted due to lack of storage space," Bansal said.
The Rice Millers Association had also met BJP national president Nitin Nabin during his visit to Punjab and urged him to take up the issue of mounting foodgrain stocks with the Union government.
"We asked the BJP national president to raise Punjab's foodgrain storage problem with the Union government. If it is not resolved, it will create a severe problem for farmers during the upcoming kharif harvest," Bansal said.
Earlier, Punjab Chief Secretary KAP Sinha had written to the Union Food and Public Distribution Secretary seeking the creation of additional CAP storage facilities.
In the letter, Sinha said state agencies procured 121.63 lakh tonnes of wheat during the recent rabi marketing season. However, due to slow grain movement, Punjab was already holding around 36 lakh tonnes of wheat from previous years before the latest procurement began.
"Due to shortage of storage space, state agencies had to store around 40 lakh metric tonnes of wheat in rice mills and mandi yards," the letter said.
