Food adulteration
Shillong: Chief Minister Mukul Sangma on Thursday warned fair price shop owners against indulging in food adulteration.
“A couple of years back, I have received complaints from some beneficiaries that the sugar issued to them had residues of cement in them and on enquiry it was found that the sugar had been brought in cement bags,” Sangma said.
The Chief Minister made this startling revelation in an official programme at Ampati, the district headquarters of South West Garo Hills.
“Therefore, the government has now directed that the levy sugar should be hygienically packaged to prevent pilferage before distributing to the beneficiaries at Rs 13.50 per kg,” he informed the gathering.
Moreover, the Chief Minister also warned the fair-price shop dealers not to sell the packets higher than the prescribed rate, saying the fair-price dealership is a social service and not a means for personal gain.
Applications for Social Assistance Scheme: Sangma informed that more than 33,000 applications for Chief Minister’s Social Assistance Scheme have been received after mobilization campaigns and enrolment drives were carried out in different blocks of the State and money has been sanctioned for these beneficiaries for the period of six months from June to December, 2014.
Sangma was speaking at a programme organized by the Social Welfare department to distribute cheques to the beneficiaries under Chief Minister’s Wedding Assistance Scheme for the Orphan Girls and Chief Minister’s Social Assistance Scheme.
Sangma said that his government had started Wedding Assistance Scheme for poor orphan girls to enable them to have a decent married life with prospective partners according to the religious and social norms.
