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Journalism of Courage
NEW DELHI, November 15: The Department of Food and Civil Supplies is probably lowest on the Delhi Government’s priority list. Irrespective of the fact that the department is the lifeline of the underprivileged — in its capacity as supplier of subsidised provisions to the Fair Price Shops (FPS) — the government did not consider it important enough to have a minister heading it for almost a year.
Lal Behari Tiwari, who had the Food and Civil Supplies portfolio, quit after he was elected to the Lok Sabha from east Delhi in June 1997. From June 1997 to April this year till the fiery MLA Poornima Sethi was inducted into the cabinet, it continued to be headless.
And as if that is not enough, in the past five years, the department has seen five commissioners come and go.
O.P. Kelkar was commissioner from July 31, 1992 to March 2, 1994. Dr G.C. Srivastava held the post from March 3, 1994 to July 14, 1995. Satish Chandra took over and was commissioner between September 7, 1995 and January 2, 1997. The post was held by Ashok Nath from January 3 to October 30 that same year. K. Sethuraman has been holding the reigns since October 31, 1997.
And while the government was busy effecting transfers, the department bungled from a wheat crisis to an adulterated mustard oil crisis, from soaring onion prices to scarcity of mustard oil. Not to mention the routine shortages and the poor quality of stock provided to the FPS, which have become the hallmark of the Public Distribution System (PDS).
Onions: The prolonged crisis now determines BJP’s electoral prospects, notwithstanding that it brought down Sahib Singh Verma.
On October 12, promptly after the swearing-in ceremony, his successor Sushma Swaraj promised to flood the city with onion at Rs 5 per kg; a week later she announced that 750 tonne of onions from Iran would reach the Capital in four days.
But a fortnight later, onion is still subsidised at Rs 10 and that too at select government outlets; only 66.7 tonne of Iranian onion has landed at IGI airport instead of the promised 750 tonne. And never mind that it costs the government Rs 20 for every kg it sells for Rs 10. Of course, in the open market, it still continues to sell at Rs 45-50 per kg.
Mustard Oil: More than 50 deaths and a ban first on all mustard oil, which is now limited to only loose mustard oil, the government is still groping in the dark as to how the crisis came about in the first place. Sushma Swaraj, herself admitted that they could not lift the ban on loose mustard oil. The reason three tankers of adulterated mustard oil was brought into the city. The police managed to track down one, but the government still has no idea about the location of the other two tankers of adulterated oil.
And more than two months after the dropsy epidemic broke out, the government has been unable to provide a safe and cheap alternative to mustard oil. Despite the government’s claim to the contrary, small packs of Palmolein are still not available. Moreover, the role of the Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA) department which came under a cloud during this period, still remains suspect.
Wheat shortage: It was in last quarter of 1996 that the city was rocked by shortage of wheat. The scarcity, which was later found to be artificial, was created by traders who had hoarded wheat in their godowns. Prices shot up by 60 per cent and only then did the government begin a crackdown on the traders, cancelling licences and putting a ceiling on the quantity of wheat that could be bought by grain merchants.
According to G.C. Gupta, general secretary, Ration Dealer’s Association: “This ministry’s functioning is probably the poorest. Maybe it is because there are too many agencies involved here. Officials of the Food and Civil Supplies department admit that they have to coordinate with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation, for procuring and supplying provisions. And if they don’t cooperate, there is nothing that they can do”.
