To monitor the distribution of wheat under the National Food Security Act-2013, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday ordered the constitution of Vigilance Committees at the district, block and fair price shop levels. The committees will also monitor the home delivery of atta, expected to be started in the near future.
“The present government has laid special emphasis on strengthening people’s participation in governance and, therefore, all these Committees shall have substantial public representation,” said the state Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak, while sharing all details.
The Minister said that the Vigilance Committees shall be tasked with supervising implementation of all schemes under the NFSA Act. The Committee shall also inform the District Administration in writing about any violation, malpractice, or misappropriation of funds found by it in the implementation of these schemes, he added.
Elaborating on the composition of the Committees, the Minister said that there shall be a fair representation of all sections of the society — be it Scheduled Castes (SC), backward classes (BCs), women or the actual beneficiaries of the scheme. This shall ensure that these Committees are fair in their working and they empathise with the poorer sections of the society.
Notably, the State Government is distributing wheat at the rate of five kg per beneficiary per month to 1.5 crore individuals which translates to 40 lakh families. Antodaya families are getting a uniform allocation of 35 kg per month per family.
Recently, the Cabinet has approved home delivery of atta to the beneficiaries, which is scheduled to commence from October 1, 2022.