Implementation of National Food Security Act (NFSA) in Jharkhand prevailed over establishing a leakage free system as the department of Food and Civil Supplies decided to roll out the services without addressing the malaise prevalent in the public-distribution-system that forms the core of the NFSA setup.
Notably, the department has started distribution of food grains as per the provision of the Act from October 11. However, despite all serious talks regarding the success of the largest programme for poverty alleviation, the mammoth task of ensuring transparency through technology would only be introduced in later phases.
“Our first priority was to implement NFSA. Now it has happened we will gradually improve the system in later phases,” said Secretary, FCS, Vinay Kumar Choubey.
Among the measures that were supposed to be introduced into the system included equipping delivery trucks with global positioning system (GPS) to track movement of goods along specified routes and hence to curb the general tendency of loot that the present system currently faces.
Notwithstanding the benefits, the provision that started doing rounds two-years back has lost pace due to complexities of the technology which is unlikely to be resolved before next year.
The Act envisages five kg rice or wheat per member of a family per month with 25 kg being the upper limit as an estimated 1.4 lakh metric tonne grains would be required per month to make the grains flow from supplier to recipient’s end.
“Nothing has happened so far (on installing trucks with GPS) as we could prepare any plan. We will try to prepare a plan before Durga Puja and hopefully we will do that from January-February in next year which is in fact our target also,” Choubey told.
The Secretary added that the department would stabilize the system under NFSA to get a clear number of trucks that will be needed for the supply of commodities.
Other significant measures that will aid transparency are still in pipeline. Procurement of hand held biometric device and tablets for depot in-charge is among those measures.
“We will float tenders for procuring hand held devices and work order for procuring tablets would also be issued in a couple of days,” confided Choubey.
Minister, Food and Civil Suplies, Saryu Roy had stated that there will be around 21,000 public distribution outlets across the State and all the ration outlets will be provided list of beneficiaries in order to ensure the food grains fall into the bowls of the deserving class.
“The system is same and everyone would get before that day as the system is same only numbers have increased,” maintained the Secretary.
The department has also asked special officer rationing and district supply officers to include the names who have been left out of the list of beneficiaries. “We want that benefit should be availed by actual beneficiaries. As the department decides to implement the Act from the mid-second week of October,” added the Secretary.