Procurement operations could begin in earnest as the Centre is expected to announce relaxation in specifications for lustre-loss and shrivelled grains in wheat to be procured during the ongoing rabi Marketing season.
The Punjab Government has also demanded a special package from the Centre for farmers, who have suffered crop damage because of the vagaries of weather. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has written to the Centre, requesting it to increase its share of compensation given to the affected farmers under the disaster relief fund as the state has already increased its share by 25 per cent. The government has also demanded relaxation in specifications for wheat procurement.
Most of the 166 samples of wheat, collected by the central teams from 12 districts over the past three days, have been found to have either black grains or shrivelled grains beyond the specified 6 per cent. The damaged and broken grains, beyond the specified limit, have also been reported. The results of testing of these grains came out today, confirmed a senior officer in the Fci Punjab Region Office.
The government has demanded that grains with up to 6 per cent damage, 12 per cent slightly damaged and 15 per cent broken grains be procured by the Centre, besides grains that have a complete lustre loss.