The office of the Chief Minister and Department of Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs have indulged into a kind of standoff over involving private players to make available common household items through PDS shops in Jharkhand.
The idea came over a year ago has been wandering in files without any headway which in response has virtually irked Saryu Roy, the Minister heading the Department. Recently the proposal came from the Chief Minister Office suggesting yet another study trip before implementing the proposal in the State.
“The file had come to me. I have sent it back commenting that I myself had gone to Rajasthan one year ago to look into the PDS system over there where a private company is running PDS shops on PPP mode and making available items other than PDS to the consumers. There is no point sending another team for the same purpose which would do nothing but delay the idea further,” Saryu Roy told The Pioneer on Sunday.
The Government had long ago expressed a resolution suggesting that the PDS shops would double as general stores so that items of daily uses can be made available to the public, especially in rural areas, easily and on reasonable price. The stores are to be operated on PPP mode. The Minister had soon after visited Rajasthan which has roped in leading retain giant the Future Group for this purpose.
When this newspaper tried to know the status of the proposal Departmental Secretary Vinay Kumar Chaubey said that a team of officials would be visiting Rajasthan most probably by next month.
“There have some good works happened in Rajasthan on this front. On the direction of the Chief Minister a team of three officials including myself would be visiting Rajasthan, most probably in August to study the PDS control system functional over there. There the PDS shops are providing non-PDS common household items as well to the consumers and are run on PPP mode,” said the Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Secretary.
Wondering Roy on the other feels this as diversionary tactic stopping short from terming it intended to delay. “I had submitted a detailed report about the trip on possibility of replicating the system in Jharkhand and the ground works need to be done before that. Instead of sending another team for the same purpose, we should have been working to prepare ground here like identification of the Divisions and shops where the system can be rolled out, method suitable for the State and role of existing PDS dealers etc. There is no point repeating the same exercise once again,” the Minister said.
He in this response to the CMO has specifically noted that the Government may get in touch with the Future Group or call a fresh letter of Intent (loI) for running the PDS stores as complete consumer shops.
“The file is just moving from up to down for a year now. Either the Government should call the company working in Rajasthan or invite fresh tender to find an operator. I have written in the file that the order to send another team to Rajasthan be amended. Now the ball is in the Chief Minister’s court,” said Roy.
Notably Rajasthan became the first State of the country to handover it over 5000 PDS outlets to retail giant ‘Future Group’ to operate. The stores named as ‘Annapurna Bhandars’ are selling along with normal rice, wheat, sugar, salt and kerosene host of consumer goods often sold through the group’s retail chains.
The Government of Rajasthan has entered into a tripartite agreement with Future Group and outlet owners, also fixed prices of the commodities in a way that the benefits of discounted prices are shared between the outlet owners and consumers. Bulk access of such shops has permitted the company to lower prices of the items further which can also be expected here in Jharkhand as well.