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Fact Check: Did Adani Group Set Up Silos In Punjab As Soon As Farm Bills Were Passed In Parliament?
Punjab, 25 Sep 2020 11:53 AM GMT | Updated 25 Sep 2020 11:57 AM GMT
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The Logical Indian Fact check team investigates the claim that Adani Agri Logistics Limited (AALL) set up a food silo as soon as the three farm and agriculture-related bills were passed in the Parliament.
The farm bills - The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 were passed in Rajya Sabha on September 20, by voice vote, despite massive protest by opposition and farmers.
The bills were cleared amid mayhem in Rajya Sabha with several MPs taking to the well of the House and raising anti-government slogans. Farmers have also raised concerns as they allege bills eliminate the Minimum Support Price.
The third farm bill was cleared on September 22. The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, which was approved by the lower house on September 15, was approved by a voice vote in Rajya Sabha.
In light of this, a photograph of a billboard in Moga district of Punjab having the Food Corporation of India [FCI] name with Adani Agri Logistics Limited is being circulated on social media. Viral claims suggested that Adani Logistics Limited has set up a food silo right after the three farm and agriculture-related bills were passed in the Parliament.
"Farmers have not even finished their agitation that Adani has put up their board. This is why the government passed the bill without asking Parliament," reads the caption of one such post.
The other type of caption reads, "Not even two days have passed since passage of the bill and they [Adani] have put up their board first. Seems like the orders were written by Adani to Narendra Tomar and Narendra Modi."
Claim:
Adani Agri Logistics Limited (AALL) set up a food silo as soon as the three farm and agriculture-related bills were passed in the Parliament.
Fact Check:
The claim is false.
The Logical Indian reached out to an official with the Adani group regarding the viral post.
"The post is absolutely incorrect and the storage facility is an old establishment, which was developed through competitive bidding," the official said.
The statement added that "The storage facility mentioned in the social media post was commissioned way back in 2007 and has set new benchmarks in the segment".
The entire statement can be read below:
According to the website of the company, Adani Agri Logistics Limited (AALL) undertakes "the entire handling of the food grains, right from receiving at Base Depots, cleaning and drying as well as storage and transportation to field depots is carried out in bulk form, thus minimizing the losses. These units are notified procurement centres of FCI, where farmers deliver their produce directly in bulk form."
Financial Express reported on October 18, 2008, that Adani Agri-Logistics, an arm of the of Adani group, has built silos for bulk handling and storage of food-grain in collaboration with state-owned Food Corporation of India (FCI). The report added that the company expected to break over the next 5 - 6 years.
In the pilot project, the FCI had entered a build, own and operate (BOO) agreement for 20 years with AAL for setting up two silos at Moga in Punjab and Kaithal in Haryana in 2005.
Therefore, the silo mentioned in the photograph falls under an agreement dated 12 years back.
A report by Mint, published on January 21, 2015, stated that Adani Agri Logistics had set up the first of modern grain storage infrastructure in 2007 for the Food Corporation of India.
Reportedly, the company had built grain silos in Moga in Punjab and Kaithal in Haryana to store grains and corresponding receiving silos in Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Coimbatore, with Adani's own railway rakes plying in between.
If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.
Also Read: Fact Check: Old Photo Shared As State Crackdown On Recent Farmers' Protests
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