The quality of the rice brought from Punjab is now under scrutiny as the political disagreement between the Central Government and Punjab over this season’s “tardy” paddy procurement has taken a new turn. Media sources claim that “samples of rice collected from the stock supplied to at least two consumer states (Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh) have been found to be either beyond rejection limit (BRL) or unfit for human consumption.” The rice that was sent to “Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, and Nagaland was unfit for human consumption,” according to a Punjab government official who asked to remain anonymous.
In order to verify the quality of the grains kept in the FCI districts of Sangrur, Jalandhar, and Nabha—from which the stocks were shipped to the recipient states—the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution has since written to the FCI. 11,241 quintals of rice were recently shipped to Assam and Dimapur (Nagaland). The rice samples failed the quality test on November 12 and 13. Insects infested up to 18 wagons carrying 23,097 quintals of rice. Additionally, The fortified rice was also below standard.
