Launch food-for-work scheme to use surplus foodgrains: Kisan Sabha tells Centre

The government, saddled with substantial surplus stocks of grains, need to start a food stuff-for-operate programme to get grains to the needy instead than allowing for them to rot in godowns, the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) explained in a statement on Wednesday.

On June 1, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) had ten.four crore tonnes of foodgrains. Under no circumstances right before has the government stored these kinds of a huge amount of foodgrains. This is 8.33-crore tonnes in surplus of what the government requirements for operational and crisis necessities, AIKS, the CPI(M)-backed farmer organisation, explained.

The unwillingness of the BJP government to use the grain for general public distribution is the most important induce of this create-up of stocks, the farmer organisation alleged. These kinds of a substantial create-up of foodgrains adversely affects farmers as it operates to depress prices in the open up market place, wherever a huge vast majority of farmers has to market their crops in the absence of general public procurement amenities. Along with this, the FCI has been pressured to incur a huge sum of expenditure on sustaining the grains, additional increasing the economic price of the grains.

“It is felony to hoard these kinds of a huge amount of grains in the course of a disaster these kinds of as the present, when starvation and food stuff insecurity have an affect on a huge vast majority of persons in India. It is utter callousness that in its place of opening its granaries for feeding the hungry, the BJP-led Central government is hoarding grain and depriving persons of food stuff,” it explained.

“This grain belongs to the persons and the surplus must be distributed absolutely free of price to all needy and the government need to operate (a) food stuff-for-operate programme with it to generate employment,” AIKS explained.

It also demanded instant extension of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana for the complete calendar year, universalisation of the provision of subsidised grains and use of foodstocks to massively grow employment opportunities by means of the Mahatma Gandhi Countrywide Rural Work Ensure Scheme.

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