Chief Minister Raman Singh on Tuesday said that the Chhattisgarh Government has resolved that no person in the State will sleep on empty stomach.
Every poor person will get rice through the public distribution system (PDS). Rice from ration shops will not be given to those who sell it out in the market, he added, while speaking at the inaugural function of the new Regional and District Office building of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) constructed at a cost of Rs8.25 crore at Kampa here.
The Chief Minister said that the State government has been making efforts that the benefits of the PDS scheme should not go to any ineligible person. The State government has been taking tough steps to stop leakage, recycling and chaos in the public distribution system, he added.The function was presided over by Union Food, Public Distribution System and Consumer Affairs minister Ramvilas Paswan. Chhattisgarh Food Minister Punnulal Mohle was also present at the function.
Addressing the function, the Chief Minister told FCI officers to extend every possible cooperation in running the public distribution system smoothly in Chhattisgarh. There should be transparency in the system and policies be decided in accordance with the needs of the State, he said. In his presidential address, Union Food Minister Ramvilas Paswan said that those who are engaged in black-marketing, profiteering and hoarding would not be tolerated and stern action would be taken against them.
Praising the PDS in Chhattisgarh, Paswan said that whenever the system was discussed at the national level, the name of the State came first. The Chhattisgarh government has been providing 35 kg rice at Rs1 and 2 per kg to poor families, besides 2 kg salt free and in scheduled areas, 2 kg gram at Rs5 per kg and 2 kg pulses at Rs10 per kg. Perhaps, no other State in the country that has launched such a scheme to provide food grain and nutrition security to the poor, like Chhattisgarh, he said.
lauding the scheme of the State government of providing Rs300 per quintal bonus to the farmers on the procurement of paddy, Paswan said that with this scheme of the government, farmers got inspiration to increase production of paddy. Ten years ago, paddy production in the State was about 30 lakh metric tonnes, which now has increased to about 85 lakh metric tonnes, he added.
Regarding the request of the Chief Minister of getting financial assistance from the Centre for this scheme, Paswan said that the Union government would seriously consider this issue. The Centre would take a positive decision on increasing the storage capacity of the FCI in Chhattisgarh.Paswan said that there was no dearth of food grain and there were sufficient quantity of rice, wheat, sugar, fruits and vegetables in the country, but some people have been fomenting trouble and increasing the rates of commodities of daily use.
There was no dearth of onion stock in the country. Increase in the rate of onion would not be tolerated. The Central government has launched a drive against corruption and inflation in the entire country, he added. MP Ramesh Bais, CMD of FCI C Vishwanath, Food Secretary Vikassheel, Joint Secretary, Union Food Ministry, Deepak Kumar, senior officers, employees and eminent citizens were present at the function.