MARGAO
Firmly ruling out the possibility of plastic rice being distributed to the BPL cardholders, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said the clear and transparent rice found in the ration is fortified rice which is mixed with the normal rice to provide protein-rich rice to the consumers.
He said though the government was confident that there was no plastic in the rice supplied by the fair price shops (FPSs), the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) was told to investigate the claim in respect of plastic rice, and the report does not show the presence of plastic rice mixed with normal rice.
While regretting that maggots have been found in rice supplied via the ration shops, the Chief Minister, however, rejected the claims in certain quarters, including the MLAs that plastic rice is being mixed with the normal rice.
Interacting with the media on the sidelines of the foundation stone laying programme for the six-lane Rawanfond bridge here on Tuesday, the Chief Minister urged the MLAs to exercise restraint and caution to avoid confusion in the minds of the consumers.
“I was 110 per cent sure that there’s no plastic rice mixed with normal rice for the simple reason that it would cost huge money to develop the plastic rice when the normal rice is available cheap in the market. But, still, I told the FDA to conduct the probe and it has clearly ruled out plastic rice,” he said.
Pointing out that protein-rich fortified rice is being mixed with normal rice as per the FCI guidelines, the Chief Minister said a kilogram of fortified rice is mixed in a 50-kg normal rice before it is distributed at the ration shops.
He urged the MLAs not to fall prey to unfounded claims by showing the rice as plastic, saying it would only create confusion in the minds of the people.
The Chief Minister, however, said he does not deny the presence of maggots in the rice supplied by the fair price shops, saying strict instructions have been issued to the fair price shops to return all such rice to the godown.
“There can be maggots in the rice, and I cannot deny it. The damaged rice has been replaced. But, the claim by MLAs that plastic rice is being supplied to the ration shops is not correct,” he said.
When asked for the reasons behind the presence of maggots in the ration rice, the Chief Minister said: “The rice supplied by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) comes to the State. Maybe due to preservation or problems relating to storage, the maggots can make their presence, but certainly, plastic rice cannot find its way in the ration rice.”
