Thursday, June 29 2006 17:46 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: As the government decides to import wheat following spurt in prices, Panchayati Raj Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar has virtually questioned its need at a time he alleged rodents were feeding on procured wheat.

Speaking at a book release function here last evening, he said the country was importing wheat from Australia when food corporation godowns feed rats with tonnes of foodgrains.

"The quantity of wheat import is the largest commercialpurchase in the history of the country and that is larger than Kenya's wheat production," he said apparently refering to the recent import of wheat from Australia.

In the wake of low procurement by state agencies for PDS and social sector scheme, the government has decided to import wheat to strengthen domestic supplies.

At the function to release a book 'India: Issues in Development' authored by noted activist Mohan Guruswamy, Aiyar also expressed displeasure over the 'heavily' centralised planning system and said reforms and human face will not go hand-in-hand.

He also took a swipe at the Golden Quardilateral project, calling it a 'fancy' scheme, which gets easy money from private sector that ignores rural areas.