Food Minister Amarjeet Bhagat requested the central government to allow FCI to use gunny bags received from the old / public distribution system. He mentioned in a letter to Union Minister Piyush Goyal that 1.48 lakh jute gunny bags had been approved by the Central Government, but only 1.08 lakh gunny bags were supplied. FCI is denying the use of gunny from the old / public distribution system. Due to shortage of gunny bags of new jute, the Central Government had allowed permission to deposit rice in old / PDS gunny bags with FCI / State Procurement Agencies. Contrary to this permission, FCI is not procuring rice in gunny bags of old / public distribution system. The Central Government had written a letter on 20 October 2020 permitting the use of old used gunny bags in the event of shortage in the supply of gunny bags.
The central government had approved 1.48 lakh gunny bags but only 1.08 lakh gunny bags were supplied: Amarjeet Bhagat
