New Delhi: The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation and the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) have accused the Union government of enabling corporate concentration in the Food Corporation of India’s grain storage modernisation programme. The allegations centre on the removal of an anti-monopoly clause from tenders under the FCI’s Hub and Spoke silo project.
According to statements issued by the two organisations, the clause was originally proposed to prevent any single company from gaining excessive control over the country’s grain storage infrastructure. They alleged that the clause was removed in 2022 following intervention from NITI Aayog and the Department of Economic Affairs.
CPI(ML) and AIKS claimed that Adani Agri Logistics Ltd and Leap India Food & Logistics Pvt Ltd secured 110 of the 134 contracts awarded under two phases of the nearly ₹20,000 crore project. They alleged that the two firms obtained contracts worth around ₹16,500 crore and now control 46.5 lakh metric tonnes of the planned 60 lakh metric tonnes storage capacity, amounting to about 77.5 percent of the total.
Describing the development as a backdoor privatisation of grain storage infrastructure, the organisations argued that such concentration threatens food security and weakens the original objectives of the Food Corporation of India. AIKS demanded restoration of the anti-monopoly clause, limits on corporate control over silo capacity, and a Joint Parliamentary Committee inquiry into the project.
CPI(ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya linked the issue to concerns raised during the farmers’ movement against the farm laws, alleging a return of corporate influence in agricultural infrastructure.
The Food Corporation of India rejected the allegations. FCI stated that the silo programme was developed under a public-private partnership model to expand modern storage facilities and encourage investment in the sector. It said bidding remained open and transparent, with all participants competing under identical conditions.
FCI maintained that contracts were awarded solely through competitive bidding and denied claims that the process favoured any company.
 Liberation and AIKS have alleged corporate concentration in the FCI silo project after removal of an anti-monopoly clause, while FCI maintains the bidding process was transparent and competitive.){kind=link}