Chandigarh, June 2 (KNN) Addressing the need to create sufficient space for maintaining stocks of food grains, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has directed the food and supplies department to take up with Food Corporation of India (FCI) the issue of accelerating the shifting out of food stocks from the states warehouses and mandis.

For creating adequate storage capacity in the warehouses and mandis for both wheat and rice, Chief Minister said that the FCI must increase the monthly quantum of food grain delivery from Punjab from the current 13 LMT to 20 LMT.

He also suggested that in addition to efforts towards increasing covered storage facilities, FCI should be asked to further augment their storage capacity in Punjab to minimize the state's burden to preserve the food grains.

He also directed the concerned department to raise with FCI the issue of providing guarantee for creation of 17 lakh tonnes silo capacity at 31 locations, for which agreements had already been executed by PUNGRAIN, failing which the process would have to be scrapped and fresh tenders would have to be floated as per FCI policy.

Also, to make the agriculture profitable and viable for the farmers, chief minister emphasized on the need to aggressively motivate farmers to go in for crop diversification in order to break away from the wheat-paddy cycle.

Earlier in the meeting, the principal secretary, food and supplies, informed the chief minister that during the present rabi season, more than 125 lakh tonnes wheat had been procured, of which 84 lakh tonnes had been supplied to food deficit states.

The department was targeting procurement of more than 117 lakh tonnes paddy in the forthcoming season, he added.

He further informed that the state had 232.67 lakh tonnes of food grain stocks in the May end 2018, out of which 165.50 lakh tonnes was expected to move out by March 2019. By that time the state would have 175.22 lakh tonnes of foodgrain stock following the paddy harvest.