The joint coordination committee of state procurement agencies has threatened to shun wheat procurement at mandis until the Centre announces relaxation in procurement specifications.If the staff of these agencies go ahead with the move, wheat procurement in the state could come to a halt. So far, 1,02,392.52 metric tonne (MT) wheat has arrived in mandis, of which only 30,279 MT has been procured, including 354.90 MT by private traders.Officials of Punsup, Pungrain, Markfed and the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation said they were being pressured by politicians and senior officials to procure wheat that did not meet the Centre’s quality norms. They cited an incident in Patiala where a senior district official allegedly forced procurement of wheat with high moisture content and lustre loss. When the junior official objected, he was removed from duty.“We want wheat to be declared under relaxed specifications (URS) and quality norms to be eased before we resume procurement,” the officials said.Director, Food and Supply, Varinder Kumar Sharma said he had spoken to committee members and assured them they would not be forced to buy substandard wheat. He also urged them not to suspend procurement.“Central teams have begun assessing the damage and we are hopeful of relaxation in specifications. At the same time, the state government has assured farmers that every grain will be procured,” he said.The Centre has constituted nine teams to assess rain damage to wheat crop due to western disturbances. Four teams have already reached Punjab and collected samples from Bathinda, Patiala, Muktsar and Mohali. The remaining five teams are expected to arrive on Monday to collect samples from 12 districts. The samples will be tested in FCI laboratories and the report submitted to the Union Food Ministry.