Opinion No rashness on rations

Nothing has exposed the unsatisfactory state of affairs in the PDS as has the report of the Central Vigilance Committee appointed by the Supreme Court. The CVC was headed by Justice Wadhwa,a retired SC judge; it described the PDS as “one of the most corrupt sectors”,and that corruption was all-pervasive along the entire chain. Most of the department’s functionaries are described as “callous and corrupt”. The root cause of the failure of this scheme: political interference,and a combination of dishonest Fair Price Shop owners,treacherous transporters as well as unscrupulous millers. In Bihar,the committee visited many villages and towns; the general complaint was that during the last year,they got foodgrains only for 2-3 months. There was large-scale diversion of foodgrains supplied to the PDS: through black marketing by Fair Price Shop dealers,a nexus between them and department officials,improper record-keeping,false register entries and,above all,political influence and interference.

The CBI is presently investigating a case of extensive abuse of the PDS in UP during 2003-2005. A Special Task Force was appointed by the state government which found that there was criminal conspiracy of officers from various agencies,departments,district administration,as well as officials of the railways,the Food Corporation of India,Central Warehousing Corporation and different public sector banks. It is a devastating charge against practically every administrative wing. Foodgrains were exported to other states and countries with the connivance of the railways and hence there were international and inter-state ramifications. The CBI took up the investigation and registered 9 cases against 150 officers including more than a dozen PDS officers,employees and contractors. The investigations continue,and because of the scam’s vast dimensions,may take considerable time.

I describe this in detail to show how deep is the malaise. The same may be the story in several other states.

It is the responsibility of the Central government to put in place a monitoring mechanism to ensure that those for whom the grain is intended,get it. Cash payments should be a definite no. They would only facilitate swindling by officials. So-called smart cards might not answer either: we have seen how NREGS job cards have been manipulated by intermediaries and corrupt government officials.

There are several Central schemes which are being implemented in cooperation with the states. The NREGS and the PDS,under the Food Security Act,are the most important of them. The total amount of money spent by the Centre through the states with the help of the state machinery,which is the implementing agency,is colossal. The Planning Commission reportedly found that the amount spent on various schemes in the states varies from 26 per cent to 87 per cent,but on an average,it was hovering around 40 to 50 per cent. In the tribal district of Sonbhadra in UP,bordering MP,the Planning Commission team discovered not one teacher in its nearly 200 schools.

The Planning Commission and the finance ministry should,therefore,put in place an effective monitoring mechanism which should go into the distribution system down the line,right up to the Fair Price Shops in the villages. If the World Bank can have a Country Director in each country to monitor the spending of the money it lends,the Centre has even more direct responsibility to see that huge amounts of money sanctioned under various schemes,particularly the PDS,are implemented properly. A certain percentage of the total allocation of the funds could be justifiably earmarked for the monitoring mechanism. The details of the monitoring mechanism should be worked out elaborately to ensure that not only the PDS scheme but the various other schemes of Bharat Nirman work as satisfactorily as possible.

The writer retired as Director,Intelligence Bureau. He has served as governor in Sikkim,West Bengal and UP

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