Chandigarh: Punjab is likely to receive relaxation in wheat procurement norms, with the Centre expected to make a formal announcement on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The development comes after the Union government has already granted similar relief to Haryana. Officials indicate that Punjab may receive relaxation on the same lines as Rajasthan, which was earlier given concessions due to crop damage.<\/p>\n
A central team collected 291 wheat samples from mandis across 22 districts in Punjab, while Pathankot was excluded as the crop had not arrived there yet. The samples were tested at the Food Corporation of India (FCI) laboratory in Chandigarh, and the report has been submitted to the Union Food Ministry.<\/p>\n
Sources said the report found higher-than-permitted levels of lustre loss, shrivelled and broken grains, and increased blackening, indicating significant damage due to recent rains.<\/p>\n
Under existing norms, up to 6% broken grains are allowed, but Rajasthan was given relaxation up to 15%. Similarly, up to 50% relaxation in lustre loss and 6% in damaged grains was approved for Rajasthan. Punjab is expected to receive similar concessions.<\/p>\n
The state government has reported crop damage across nearly 1.30 lakh acres due to unseasonal rain and hailstorms. Procurement has slowed down as the produce does not meet standard quality norms.<\/p>\n
So far, over 6.53 lakh metric tonnes of wheat has arrived in mandis, but only around 2.47 lakh metric tonnes (about 38%) has been procured.<\/p>\n
Punjab has set a target of procuring 122 lakh metric tonnes this season. Officials expect procurement to pick up pace from April 17 if the Centre approves the relaxation.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Food Corporation of India has started direct lifting of wheat from mandis. The first train under this system has been loaded from Khanna mandi, with around 20 trains expected to be dispatched daily.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chandigarh: Punjab is likely to receive relaxation in wheat procurement norms, with the Centre expected to make a formal announcement on Thursday. The development comes after the Union government has already granted similar relief to Haryana. Officials indicate that Punjab may receive relaxation on the same lines as Rajasthan, which was earlier given concessions due […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":63650,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,20],"tags":[14405,14406,14403,14404],"class_list":["post-63649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest","category-punjab","tag-centre-decision","tag-expected-soon","tag-punjab-likely-to-get","tag-relaxation-in-wheat-procurement-norms"],"yoast_head":"\n