Amritsar May 3:
While foodgrain is rotting in the open due to paucity of storage facilities, in Amritsar a modern grain storage silo is lying unused. The project was conceived in January 2010 on a PPP (public-private partnership) basis for bulk storage.
Accordingly, tenders were floated by Pungrain, bids invited and LT Foods Limited entrusted with the task of building a steel silo complex in Mulechuk village for storing 50,000 tonnes of wheat. The cost of the project was about Rs 36 crore. Nevertheless, the memorandum of understanding between the government and LT Foods Limited could not been signed till date.
Deputy Commissioner KS Pannu said the project could not be made operational due to a disagreement over reimbursement amount. “We have raised the issue with the Food Ministry to expedite the proceedings regarding the concession agreements because the procurement of wheat is in full swing. When the plant can store wheat from this year’s harvest, then why not make use of the facility,” he said.
It is learnt that while LT Foods has demanded Rs 1,400 per tonne per year, the government is willing to pay Rs 600 per tonne per year (this is the rate normally paid by the FCI to warehouses). “The issue could not be resolved due to the net difference of reimbursement amount of Rs 800 against a tonne, for which neither the state nor the Union Government agreed,” Pannu said.
Meanwhile, this superstructure consisted of four cylindrical silos with a capacity of 12,500 tonnes each. Each of these silos is 88 feet in diameter and 105 feet in height. According to an estimate, the production capacity of the state is 18 million tonnes, of which storage is only available for 13 million tonnes.
While foodgrain is rotting in the open due to paucity of storage facilities, in Amritsar a modern grain storage silo is lying unused. The project was conceived in January 2010 on a PPP (public-private partnership) basis for bulk storage.
Accordingly, tenders were floated by Pungrain, bids invited and LT Foods Limited entrusted with the task of building a steel silo complex in Mulechuk village for storing 50,000 tonnes of wheat. The cost of the project was about Rs 36 crore. Nevertheless, the memorandum of understanding between the government and LT Foods Limited could not been signed till date.
Deputy Commissioner KS Pannu said the project could not be made operational due to a disagreement over reimbursement amount. “We have raised the issue with the Food Ministry to expedite the proceedings regarding the concession agreements because the procurement of wheat is in full swing. When the plant can store wheat from this year’s harvest, then why not make use of the facility,” he said.
It is learnt that while LT Foods has demanded Rs 1,400 per tonne per year, the government is willing to pay Rs 600 per tonne per year (this is the rate normally paid by the FCI to warehouses). “The issue could not be resolved due to the net difference of reimbursement amount of Rs 800 against a tonne, for which neither the state nor the Union Government agreed,” Pannu said.
Meanwhile, this superstructure consisted of four cylindrical silos with a capacity of 12,500 tonnes each. Each of these silos is 88 feet in diameter and 105 feet in height. According to an estimate, the production capacity of the state is 18 million tonnes, of which storage is only available for 13 million tonnes.
