Under spotlight after governor visit, Jharkhand village has residents waiting for rations for months

However, it is the failure to provide foodgrains to the state government’s green ration card holders that is hurting the villagers the most. The green card entitles its holder to monthly 5 kg of foodgrains. It was introduced to cover eligible people left out of the National Food Security Act’s (NFSA) ambit.

“My husband and I are labourers. Even after visiting block offices several times, we could not get ourselves enrolled as beneficiaries under the NFSA. Somehow we managed to get ourselves enrolled for the green ration card, but we have not received our ration since December,” said 40-year-old Dulari Devi, a resident of Ghasipur.

Not very far is Putul Devi, whose family has five members. “We have not received rations since December and multiple visits to the dealers have proved futile,” she said.

Ghasipur is divided into three colonies and there are more than 1,000 people with voter identity cards. Most of the working-age population here are daily-wage labourers or engaged in subsistence farming.

Locals said most families with green ration cards had not received foodgrains for the past four to five months.

However, Ghasipur is not the only village facing a denial of foodgrains under the green ration card. The problem exists in all 24 districts of Jharkhand.

Ashrafi Nand Prasad, convener of the Right to Food campaign, told The Indian Express, “The state government claims to have added around 15 lakh beneficiaries under the green ration card scheme. However, across the state the people holding the cards are crying for help, with many not having received foodgrains for the past six months. This is a clear example of red tape, where first the government announces the foodgrains and then denies them to the people.”

Government sources said the supply had been stopped for some time owing to certain payment issues.

Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Minister Rameshwar Oraon said last week in reply to a question in the Assembly, “Under this scheme, rice is being procured under the Food Corporation of India’s open-market sales scheme (domestic). For the past several months, the operation of the scheme has been affected as the Food Corporation of India has not supplied rice…Soon the people will get foodgrains.”

At the event, meanwhile, Governor C P Radhakrishnan told the people on Wednesday that the Santhali region was an underdeveloped region and that it would soon become a developed region. “There is harmony and good understanding among the people,” he said, adding that they would be given “protection and opportunity” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre. He then distributed sarees and dhotis, among other things.

Dumka deputy commissioner R S Shukla told the gathering that the village specialised in bamboo-related art work and that the villagers were atmanirbhar.

FCI assistant general manager (commercial) Devendra Bais admitted there had been “an issue with respect to the supply of additional food grains” (for green ration card holders in case of Jharkhand). “However, I cannot divulge the details,” told The Indian Express.

Calls made to the office of FCI general manager (Jharkhand region) Manoj Kumar for comment did not elicit any response.

State food and civil supplies director Dilip Tirkey told The Indian Express that foodgrain entitlements under the National Food Security Act were being given by the FCI in Jharkhand as usual. He said the problem occurred in the state government’s own scheme to provide foodgrains to an additional 15 lakh people.

“Initially we procured grains for green ration card holders from the FCI and paid the amount. However, the FCI suspended the sale of wheat and rice under the open-market sales scheme (domestic) to Jharkhand last year. They did not give us any reason why they have not been able to give foodgrains to us. It appears that there was a shortage of foodgrains. We had opted for a tendering process to procure the grains from private players. The process has been completed and supplies to some districts have been started. Soon green card holders will start getting foodgrains, including their entire backlog.”

Tirkey pointed to a communication sent by the FCI to the state. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution wrote to the FCI on July 7, 2022, “In view of the lower procurement of wheat in RMS 2022-23, and the lower stock availability, it has been decided to suspend the sale of wheat and rice to deficit procuring states also under the OMSS(D) policy…until further orders. Similarly sale of wheat to deficit procuring state government under non-NFSA scheme…shall also remain suspended until further orders.”

The matter was then communicated to the state government.