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Centre releases more food grain, Supreme Court happy

The court had at an earlier hearing taken exception to the Union agriculture ministry’s silence on its suggestion to consider allocating “free” or at low cost wheat likely to rot.

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The Supreme Court (SC) surprised many on Monday when it appreciated the Centre’s effort to implement its suggestion and allocate additional 25 lakh tonnes of wheat and rice at a reduced price to people living below poverty line (BPL) within six months.

The court had at an earlier hearing taken exception to the Union agriculture ministry’s silence on its suggestion to consider allocating “free” or at low cost wheat likely to rot.

On Monday, however, it sought to ensure that’s not interfering in the government’s policy.

Submitting an affidavit, additional solicitor general Mohan Parasaran clarified that the government had no intention of having “any confrontation” with the SC on the issue of distribution of food grain to the poor.

He complained to a bench of justices Dalveer Bhandari and Deepak Verma that wrong reports were appearing in a section of the press, giving an impression that the government wanted to have a confrontation with the judiciary on the issue.

The judges said the government’s affidavit was “comprehensive” and put it on record.

“We must place on record our appreciation for promptly giving attention to the court’s concern about immediate distribution of food grain to population below poverty line and preserving already procured food grain,” the bench said.

The government admitted that 12,418 tonnes of food grain — 2,689 tonnes of wheat, 9,647 tonnes of rice and 82 tonnes of paddy — stored in FCI warehouses had got damaged by August 1 last.

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