PATNA: Food inflation, 9.8% in March, has almost doubled and the trend will continue till mid-July, said Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.
"But the Centre has taken all possible steps to improve the deficiency," the minister told a presser after marathon meetings with the chief ministers and finance ministers of eastern and north-eastern states as well as top bankers in Bihar capital on Monday. The deliberations focused on the problem, deficiencies and corrective measures.
However, only Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Assam CM Tarun Gogoi, Meghalaya CM Mukul Sangma and Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio attended the meeting. While no minister or official from Tripura and Mizoram turned up at the meet, the other states were represented by finance ministers and officials __ Jharkhand by one of the advisors to the governor.
Mukherjee told newsmen the country has to import four to five million tonnes of pulse because its production in the country is only 18 to 19 million tonnes."The Centre is cooperating with the Bihar government," the FM said in response to a query on the alleged step-motherly treatment to the state. He, however, refused to comment on the demand for special category state status to Bihar. "I know about the demand. But it is determined by the Planning Commission on the basis of certain criteria," he said and added only ten states __ eight in the north-east and Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir __ have been granted this status.
Regarding the demand for a Central package to aid Kosi reconstruction, Mukherjee said the Rs 1,000-crore assistance announced by the Prime Minister caused some misunderstanding which have since been removed.
"There is no question of recovery of the assistance," he said. In response to repeated queries on the special package to Bihar, the Union minister said, "Requirements and demands are more but our capacity is limited."