The Government of Jharkhand may soon get some rice and paddy supply through Railways from West Bengal. Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Minister of Jharkhand Saryu Roy on Thursday said that his counterpart in West Bengal Joy Priya Mallik has expressed willingness to supply rice to the bordering areas of Jharkhand from WB through Railways.
Roy on Thursday attended a meeting with Mallik in Kolkata to understand the PDS system of West Bengal. He said that the WB Government is making available 26 non-PDS items through PDS shops in the State. He further said that a two member team had earlier visited Kolkata to see PDS system in WB for implementation of a scheme pertaining to distribution of tea through PDS shops in Jharkhand.
West Bengal has a good yield of rice and its quality is also good. Presently Jharkahnd gets rice from Chhhattisgarh. Roy said that officials of FCI, WEST Bengal and Jharkhand Government would sit and see that which areas of the State could be supplied rice from WB through Rail head. Apart from this Jharkhand may also buy paddy from the neighbouring State.
During the meeting West Bengal officers informed that around 2.5 crore fake ration cards had been removed from the list there. Roy understood the process of removing fake cards in detail.
He said that the WB Government was giving smart cards alongwith biometric system which can be swiped to get ration there. He further said that PDS shops in WB do not have doorstep delivery system but private players have been given the responsibility of godown management and doorstep delivery.
The Minister said that he would study the system and consider possibilities of implementation of the system in Jharkhand.