Chhattisgarh State Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Minister Punnulal Mohle on Tuesday said that Chhattisgarh is incurring huge losses as initial and provisional subsidy has not been paid on time under the Centre’s ‘decentralised procurement’ (DCP) scheme.
The Centre had not paid subsidy of Rs480.55 crore for the year 2014-15 and Rs242.60 crore for the period April to June 2015-2016, he said while addressing the State Food Ministers’ National Conference in New Delhi.
Mohle urged the Central Government to release the subsidy amount as early as possible. The lacunae in the Decentralized Food Procurement Scheme should be eliminated to help the states, he said.
Mohle said that the intake capacity of procurement of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) in Chhattisgarh is limited and the transport facility is also not sufficient. The expenses incurred over the procurement and time in storage should be compensated.
The State had lost about Rs 947 crore on the expenditure incurred on the interest and storage of rice during the 2001-02 and 2007-08 years, the Minister said.
Mohle called upon the Central Government to computerize the ration shops under the Public Distribution System (PDS). He called upon the Central Government to provide two-kg ‘Daal’ (pulses) at Rs 10 per kg to the Antyodaya and Priority and below poverty card-holders under the National Food Security Act this should be done.
Union Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Ramvilas Paswan and Union Agriculture Minister Radhamohan Singh were also present at the meeting.
Mohle said that the Central Government provided subsidized ‘Daal’ under the Public Distribution System till 2012 and later it was stopped. He urged the Centre to re-launch the subsidized ‘Daal’ for the poor.
There should be control over the prices. The State Government will provide ‘ Daal’ at a subsidized rate to the poor card-holders. The consumers will be unburdened with the increase in prices. Pulses’ crops had been ruined in the last year’s unseasonal rains and hailstorms. The prices of pulses had been increasing in the past few months, Mohle said.
The Minister said that Chhattisgarh is dependent on pulses, cooking oil, onions and potatoes on other states. He requested for providing subsidies to the pulses producing states.
Mohle said that the offences committed under the Essential Commodities Act should be non-bailable. He said that the members of District Consumer Forum should be Graduates and need not be law graduates as being proposed.
The Centre provides additional commission of Rs 17 for the Biometric or Online process of the ration card-holder under PDS. But in the remote and far-flung areas of Chhattisgarh there is no provision for G.P.R.S. or internet connectivity and hence the process of issuing ration cards should be left to the concerned State Government, he said.
Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said on the occasion that Food Ministers of all the states in the country should visit Chhattisgarh and observe the working of PDS and fair price shops, to implement it later in their respective states.
Union Food Minister Ramvilas Paswan said that even in the insurgency infested areas of the State like Bastar, PDS is operating smoothly.
Despite the Naxal problem, distribution of ration to public goes on regularly.