After declaring that the rotting of foodgrains was both unfortunate and shameful, food and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said Thursday that the government cannot implement the Supreme Court’s order to distribute food free to the poor.
“It’s not possible to implement the Supreme Court order,” Mr Pawar said. The court had recently pulled up the food ministry, asking it to distribute rotting foodgrains free of cost to hungry people rather than let it go waste. The court directive came after persisting reports in the media about huge quantities of wheat getting damaged due to lack of storage space. “The foodgrains are rotting. You can look after your own people. As a short-term measure, distribute it free to the hungry,” the court had observed.