Cases of black marketing of food items meant to be distributed through public distribution system and also of lPG cylinders are increasing in the State capital. After assuming charge as DM of Dehradun in January this year, Ravinath Raman had assured that he would take measures to improve public distribution system apart from coming down heavily on black marketing racket. However, on the ground, the promise is yet to take off.
The district food and civil supply officials hardly conduct inspections at PDS shops. The department has failed to improve PDS system in the district as problems either faced by the ration card holders or those running the PDS outlets are yet to be addressed by the officials' concerned.
It has been observed that the ration card holders do not get their ration on time. They hardly get kerosene oil from the PDS shops, they say. At another remove, those running the PDS chain of outlets say they do not get items meant for subsidised distribution from the RFC godown.
Cases of black marketing of food items meant to be distributed under PDS have been detected recently. However, action is not being taken with the department concerned having not the required data to act upon.
Uttaranchal Fair Price Dealers Association (UFPDA) president Jitendra Gupta said that he had informed the DSO regarding the same, but to no avail. "They are singularly apathetic," he rued.
All India lPG Federation Uttarakhand Circle president and Valley Gas Agency owner Chaman lal said that the most of the owners of hotel/restaurants and others do not purchase commercial cylinders from the agency. His agency has 300 commercial connection holders "However, barely hundred of them procure commercial cylinders from us. This might be because of the state government having imposed 13.5 per cent sale tax on commercial cylinders and five per cent on non- subsidized cylinders. To be exempted from sale tax, they are inclined to procure non- subsidised cylinders in place of commercial cylinders from the agency through fraudulent means. This results in the state government losing revenue. Had the administrative officers conducted regular checking at hotels or restaurants, the sale of commercial cylinders might have increased to the advantage of the state exchequer," he added.
However, things looked a bit serious after the administration officers and the Municipal Corporation conducted joint drives in the city as part of the anti-encroachment campaign. In course of the drive launched recently, they seized dozens of cooking gas cylinders being used by the shopkeepers for commercial purpose.
Critics opine that the black-marketing menace involving food items meant to be distrusted though PDS and cooking gas cylinders cannot be eliminated unless the administration in the state capital appropriately rises to the occasion. "DM Raman is yet to act on his pledge of taking stringent action against offenders and improving the PDS in the city," one of them said.