CHANDIGARH:In Haryana godowns with a capacity of 31.10 lakh metric tonnes will be built for storage of crops in the next four years, Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala informed the Assembly on Tuesday.
He said the state has decided to build new godowns and steel silos to increase the capacity in a phased manner. The state Food and Supplies Department, HAFED, Haryana State Warehousing Corporation and the Food Corporation of India procure food grains for the Central pool.
All these agencies have about 90.74 lakh metric tonnes of covered storage capacity. About 70 to 80 lakh metric tonnes of wheat and 55 to 65 lakh metric tonnes of paddy are procured by the procurement agencies every year. Besides, bajra and maize are also procured by the agencies.
Chautala said during this Rabi season, 84.93 lakh metric tonnes of wheat was procured by the Food Corporation of India and other agencies in the state. Out of this stock, 14.64 lakh metric tonnes of wheat has been lifted from the state till July 31.
He said some food grains have been kept in the mandi shed due to lack of storage capacity.
The construction work of 16, 632 metric tonne capacity godown has been completed in Hisar, while the remaining 24, 000 metric tonne godown is under process. Also, godowns of 4.41 lakh metric tonnes of HAFED and 2.4 lakh metric tonnes of Haryana State Warehousing Corporation are also under construction.
He said about 45 acres belonging to the Agriculture and Irrigation Departments in Nayawas village in Rohtak district, Santokh Majra village in Kaithal district, Hansi in Hisar district and Karnal are being transferred to the Food and Supplies Department for making godowns. These godowns will have a storage capacity of 1.5 lakh metric tonnes.