‘Half-cooked’ rice scheme gives Raman poll jitters

Official figures revealed that till the end of January this year, 7,118 fair price shops were inspected by the Public Distribution Department. The inspection revealed large-scale misappropriation of foodgrain meant for the BPL families. The Government had to initiate action against 690 fair price shops. “Licences of 391 fair price shops were suspended while those of 212 shops have been cancelled by the department,” a senior official confirmed.

The Government has also registered FIRs against 97 fair-price shops for indulging in such malpractices. While confirming that widespread irregularities had been detected in the PDS, Secretary (PDP) Alok Shukla said he had issued orders for stricter monitoring of the system. “District collectors have been asked to ensure that the rice meant for the poor reaches them and they have also been told to initiate strict action against people found to be indulging in malpractices,” Shukla added.

The smooth implementation of the scheme is also being seen as a necessity for the BJP Government as it faces Assembly polls later this year. With the Central Government offering a huge relief package for farmers across the country, the state Government is now heavily banking on the subsidised rice scheme to woo 34 lakh families, who constitute nearly 50 per cent of the population.

However, party sources confirmed that the Government was finding it difficult to keep the scheme running for almost seven-eight months till the elections and feared that any failure could boomerang on the ruling regime. “The state Congress has already unleashed a campaign to create awareness about the recent Central Government decision to waive off loans of small and medium farmers who number nearly half a million in the state,” the sources added.

Criticising the Government over its failure to establish a proper public distribution system for the poor, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Mahendra Karma said the Government was hobnobbing with traders’ lobby and siphoning off the rice meant for the poor.

However, allaying fears regarding the possible failure of the subsidised rice scheme, Chief Minister Raman Singh said the Government would initiate stern action against people who were trying to undermine the public distribution system.