By Our Reporter
KLEW: The controversy which is rallying around the deprival to provide of the Public Distribution System (PDS) items to the 23 families of Upper Klew village in Ri-Bhoi district for the several months has exposed the irregularities in the functioning of the Food and Civil Supplies department.
One of the major irregularities is that the Fair Price Shop (FPS) dealer is not being with provided with the BPL ration cards.
The FPS is distributing the various PDS items to the various beneficiaries in the village without having the BPL rations cards at their disposal.
During an interaction with media on Sunday, Klew village Rangbah Shnong Pholning Makdoh has informed that the department is allotting the various PDS items to the concerned FPS dealer without issuing the Below Poverty Line (BPL) ration cards.
“We never get the ration cards of the BPL beneficiaries. The Fair Price Shop dealer is distributing the PDS items without these cards,” Klew village Rangbah Shnong Pholning Makdoh revealed on Sunday.
He also said that kerosene oil has been distributed to beneficiaries even though they have no ration cards.
When asked how the Dorbar Shnong allots the various PDS items to the beneficiaries in the absence of the BPL cards, he said that they have directed the FPS dealer to equally distribute the PDS items as per the allotment of the department. Even with the kerosene oil, he said that distribution is done as per the allotment made to the village. Informing that normally a total of 400 litres kerosene oil is allotted to the village every month, he said that the village has a population of over 200 households so each family was given two litres of kerosene per month.
Interestingly, as per the RTI which was received from the Umsning Block Development Office on October 20 2011, it was found that the BDO is still using the list of BPL beneficiaries as per the 1991 BPL census in the village. It was found that many individuals from the 1991 census had already expired while the names of existing beneficiaries was excluded. Some of the people who have expired and whose names are still in the list include Dwelet Nongrum, Ram Sten, Browell Pyngrope,Wum Mukhim, Loi Mynsong Nasing Maring, Ioannis Shadap, Io Marwein, Koren Rynjah and Sngi Stem. What is surprising is that even the names of the affluent was included in the list of BPL beneficiaries. When asked about the inclusion of the people who have expired in the list of BPL beneficiaries, the Rangbah Shnong said that it would be difficult on his part to comment on this since it is the Government which prepares the list. When contacted, the Ri-Bhoi deputy commissioner Akash Deep said that the report of the additional district magistrate I. Mawlong regarding PDS indicated that the villagers had refused to take the PDS items from the fair price shop dealer and they had demanded their own fair price e shop dealer. The current fair price shop dealer is Rejan Mawlong However, the deputy commissioner said that there is need to correct the BPL list and to remove the names of dead people who are shown to be availing the PDS items. He also stressed the need for better streamlining of NREGS and mid day meal schemes. “The people who are conducting the BPL survey would be the best persons to reply to this query,” he added.