MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has taken a decision to destroy 2,000 metric tons of Australian red wheat that was found unfit for human and animal consumption following laboratory tests. The government had earlier pulled out 40,000 metric tons of imported Australian wheat from the Public Distribution System (PDS) following public pressure.
The federal Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who had earlier defended the import of Australian wheat and stated that it was fit for human consumption, had to eat humble pie after opposition political parties, especially the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), launched a protest and took the issue to court.
A state government official said that of the 40,000 tons of the controversial red wheat received by Maharashtra from the federal government, about 10,000 tons of the wheat was found “fit for animal consumption only.”
With the decision to destroy 2,000 tons of the wheat and the additional 10,000 tons found fit for animal consumption to be sold, the rest of the wheat stock has been certified fit for human consumption and will be sold through open tender, the official added.
The rate for the sale of wheat certified fit for animal consumption will be decided by the district collectors as per the quality and will be sold to dairy and poultry owners.
A state department of food and civil supplies official said, “The wheat unfit for consumption by either humans or animals will be destroyed according to the procedure laid down in the manual, and that orders to this effect have already been issued.”
The Maharashtra government after phasing out imported stocks of the imported red wheat had sought directions from the federal government for the disposal of the “substandard” wheat lying in 300 warehouses across the state.
