Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar informed the Rajya Sabha today that punitive action has been taken against officials responsible for instances of rotting of foodgrains at various FCI godowns. Replying to a Calling Attention notice by Venkiah Naidu and others on the issue , Pawar said FCI officials found damaged wheat stocks at various storage facilities in UP, Punjab, Haryana and Uttarakhand. Teams of officials have been deputed from headquarters and zonal offices of FCI for inspection of storage conditions in the depots. He asserted that the foodgrains stock in the Central Pool has increased three-folds since 2006 and this is mainly because of better and remunerative prices being paid to farmers. Admitting that there is shortage of storage space, he said the government has sent a proposal to the Planning Commission for creation of additional six lakh tonnes storage capacity for foodgrains in the country. While seeking clarifications, oppossition NDA lashed at the governmnet over rotting of foodgrains in various FCI godowns in the country and said it is a glaring lapse. Apart from NDA, members from the left and Samaj Wadi party expressed concern over the rotting of food grains in the FCI godowns.