Punjab’s cost-cutting measures started with the populist atta-dal scheme. However,bringing down per household entitlement for atta-dal and replacing costlier pulses with cheaper ones has not provided relief to the scheme’s nodal agency,Punsup.
In the three years that the atta-dal scheme has been operational,the agency — arguably one of the most profitable public sector foodgrain agencies in the country — owes Rs 290 crore to various banks for funds borrowed for the scheme.
While its debt burden is going up,the state food and civil supplies department is yet to clear dues worth Rs 425 crore to the agency for running the scheme. So far,it has reimbursed a mere Rs 101.25 crore. Even the budgetary provision of Rs 350 crore earmarked for food subsidy this year is yet to reach the agency.
The audited accounts of Punsup also reveal its declining profit graph. Its profits have plunged from Rs 14.31 crore in 2005-06 to Rs 4.34 crore in 2007-08,and to Rs 3.91 crore in 2008-09.
However,Punsup’s newly-appointed chairman Ajay Pal Singh Mirankot terms the delay in reimbursement as a “family matter” and says the falling profits are due to “more project development”.
“The agency is part of the government,which has provided guarantee for loans to the tune of Rs 400 crore. The profits of the company have been ploughed into raising Punsup buildings in Mohali,Ludhiana,Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur,” he said,while addressing mediapersons here on Wednesday.
The agency gave out the first distress signals early this year when the average rates of the three pulses being tendered for the scheme jumped from Rs 2,400 per quintal in March 2008 to Rs 2,900 per quintal in March this year.
By November this year,the tenders for dals had crossed Rs 3,518 per quintal,taking the government’s monthly bill on dals alone to over Rs 12 crore. This prompted the department to replace moong dal,which was tendered for Rs 5,175 per quintal in August,with black gram.
Later,the entitlement of the nearly 13 lakh beneficiary households for wheat was also brought down to 25 kg and dal to 2.5 kg from 35 kg and 4 kg,respectively.
But it is not just high costs that plague the scheme. As rates of pulses and wheat hit the roof,there were reports of large-scale pilferage by depot-holders. Recently,Punsup replaced wheat grains with 10-kg packs of wheat flour. “It has been started on pilot basis in districts of Ludhiana and Tarn Taran,and will be implemented in 10 more districts,” added Mirankot.
Agency officials,however,say since the average rates of pulses in December have dropped to Rs 3,222 per quintal,the monthly expense on dals to likely to come down in the coming year.
‘Depots to stock cooking oil,soaps and more’
The 14,280 depots operating under the Public Distribution System (PDS) in the state will stock more subsidised items,Punsup’s chairman Ajay Pal Singh Mirankot said on Wednesday.
“We are planning to provide cooking oil,soaps and other household items at the depots at subsidised rates so that the poor can get basic items of everyday use from the depots at the right price,” he said.
Punsup presently operates nine departmental stores under the brand name Apna Bazaar in the state.
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