Chandigarh, Oct. 19 -- The Punjab State Grains Procurement Corporation (Pungrain), a subsidiary of the state's food and civil supplies department, has asked godown owners, who previously leased their facilities for storing foodgrains under the Private Entrepreneurs Godown (PEG) scheme, to rework their financial terms. However, godown owners said the deal will not conclude because Pungrain capped the offered rates way back in 2012. As a result, the owners have already requested the corporation to vacate the godowns. Pungrain has sent a communication to PEG godown owners, asking them to attend a financial negotiation on October 21 regarding the rehiring of their godowns. The state corporation is rehiring a total capacity of 35 lakh tonnes, for which tenders were initially invited in April. These godowns were originally hired back in 2012. "We are not hopeful of any positive result because Pungrain has fixed a ceiling on the rates offered back in 2012," said Dapinder Singh Brar, head of the PEG Owners Association. The godowns were initially hired at a monthly rent of Rs.3.75 to Rs.4.25 per quintal. Later, in 2023, these state-wide facilities were leased for a three-year term that has now concluded. Offering the same rent 14 years later is completely unjustified, Brar said. A senior official in the food and civil supplies department said the issue is being handled carefully to satisfy PEG owners while ensuring no storage space is lost. The PEG association has sent a communication to the managing director of Pungrain, stating that their grain storage agreement expired in April following delays in the tender process. While renewal tenders were invited that same month, godown owners claim the process has stalled due to the department's "red-tapism". As an interim arrangement, the godowns continued to be used on an actual utilisation basis for six months. However, this period expired in September and the godown owners have not agreed in principle to any previous or further extensions on this basis. They have asked Pungrain to vacate the godowns. The state's entire warehouse capacity of 180 lakh tonnes is currently full. The government godowns are already storing 155 lakh tonnes of rice accumulated over the past three seasons. An additional 10 lakh tonnes of paddy from the last season are still waiting to be milled, which is expected to add another 6 lakh tonnes of rice to the existing stockpile....