The Odisha State Food Commission has directed the BDOs of Boden and Komna blocks of Nuapada district to dispose of the grievance petitions of 2,507 applicants whose pleas for inclusion under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) have been pending since long. Commission Member-Secretary Rajashri Mohanty in her letter no. 3248 dated 22, August, 2017 has written to the BDOs to dispose the applications on merit and send compliance to the commission by September 30.
A detailed survey conducted by an NGO, SPREAD, on the status of ration card distribution in 20 gram panchayats of the two blocks in January-March had revealed that 1,778 eligible persons in Komna and 729 in Boden block have not been included under the NFSA. They had applied to the blocks in prescribed formats requesting inclusion, but their cases are yet to be considered. The commission after receiving complaints from the people has taken this step.
State Food Commission Chairman Rangalal Jamuda during his visit to Nuapada district in July had reviewed the status of different food security programmes at a meeting held at Khariar. He had directed the officials to dispose the pending applications. A total of 14,518 applications demanding ration cards as per information provided by the district administration were pending in different blocks. The highest number of applications (3,884) has been received in Komna block followed by Nuapada (3,731) Boden (3,175), Sinapali (2,368) and Khariar (1,133).
The commissioner had advised the officials to verify the applications and intimate the applicants whether they can be included or not so that they would not run to the offices repeatedly. However, no action was taken by the district administration and the applications are still pending.
When asked about the inaction, a Marketing Inspectors of the district said the entry cannot be done as the website of the Food Supplies & Consumer Welfare Department is locked. Under such circumstances, there is no certainty that the recent direction of the Food Commission would be taken care of.
“We are facing much difficulty due to exclusion from the PDS. We regularly migrate to Hyderabad leaving our children at home, but we are unable to go this year because the officials have assured that they would give us a card,” said Sumitra Bag of Kamlamal village of Boden block. Sumitra had a BPl card, but that was withheld two years ago.
Discussions with villages reveal that various guidelines of the NFSA and the directives under the Odisha Public Distribution System (OPDS) Control Order 2016 are being blatantly violated. Advisory Committees have not yet been constituted at gram panchayat and block levels. Display boards to inform about the retail price, entitlements, stock situations, etc., are not found in any sale centre. In many villages, the beneficiaries complain about improper weighing.