New Delhi/Mumbai:
The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGOM) on food will meet today to discuss ways of
implementing the Supreme Court order to distribute foodgrain 'free' to the poor instead of letting it rot.
"The EGOM on food is meeting tomorrow," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters on the sidelines of an insurance summit organised by Assocham in Mumbai on Wednesday.
The EGOM will discuss various issues related to foodgrain stock including the Supreme Court's order of August 12, which has asked the Centre to consider its free supply to the poor instead of allowing it to rot in FCI godowns, according to Food Ministry sources.
The EGOM, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, is likely to deliberate on the ways to implement the order as the apex court rejected Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar's contention that it was a "suggestion" which cannot be implemented.
"It was not a suggestion. It is there in our order. It is part of our order. You tell the Minister about it," a Bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Deepak Verma told the government counsel, Additional Solicitor General Mohan.
Pawar stated in Parliament that the government will honour the decision of the Supreme Court's order. He also said that he had heard about the observations made by the apex court from the media and had made attempts to obtain a copy of the court order.
The minister had said it would be "improper" on his part to make any comments without reading the official order of the apex court as it could amount to misleading the House.
Early last month, Pawar issued a statement in the Lok Sabha that 7.36 lakh tonnes of foodgrain was found damaged between 2000-01 and 2009-10. The value of damaged foodgrain stock reduced from Rs 67.52 crore in 2000-01 to Rs 3.63 crore in 2009-10.
Till July of the current year, over 11,700 tonnes of foodgrain worth Rs 6.86 crore were found damaged in various godowns, he had said. The minister had also said that the reports on foodgrain rotting in godowns were quite "exaggerated".
Presently, the government godowns have a stock of 57.8 million tonne of foodgrain, against the buffer norm of 31.9 million tonne.