Paul asks State govt to plug loopholes in PDS system in Meghalaya
SHILLONG: The Targeted Public Distribution System (TDPS) in the country was in shambles and the Northeastern states were making outstanding contributions to the leakages in the system, states a report which was tabled in the Parliament on Feb 27.”The report of the Shanta Kumar high-level committee on the restructuring of the Food Corporation of India has came up with startling findings on the corrupt and inefficient PDS system in the State,” UDP legislator Paul Lyngdoh said, quoting the report, while moving a motion on the corrupt and inept administration of the PDS system in the State leading to unprecedented leakages in its distribution.Lyngdoh said that the report reveals that the PDS fiscal cost of leakages across the country in rice and wheat run into crores of rupees – Rs.5, 892 crore for PDS rice and Rs.12, 598 crore for PDS wheat.In case of kerosene, the fiscal cost of leakages on an all-India basis was over Rs.10, 000 crore.In the case of PDS rice, the leakage in most of the Northeastern states was higher than the all-India figure, and the corresponding figure for wheat was many times over the national average, Lyngdoh said, referring to the report.
“Against the all-India average of 41 per cent in the leakage of kerosene, the leakage is 97 per cent in Nagaland, 84 per cent in Manipur, 80 per cent in Sikkim, 76 per cent in Arunachal Pradesh, 70 per cent in Meghalaya, 59 per cent in Mizoram, 54 per cent in Assam, and 35 per cent in Tripura,” he pointed out.
While referring to data on leakages of rice, he said that the leakage was 15 per cent in Assam, 96 per cent in Manipur, 91 per cent in Nagaland, 42 per cent in Meghalaya, 12 per cent in Tripura, 33 per cent in Arunachal Pradesh and 47 per cent in Sikkim.
Referring to the leakages on wheat, Lyngdoh said that the leakage in terms of percentage was 96 per cent in Assam, 100 per cent in Manipur and Nagaland, 99 per cent in Meghalaya, 77 per cent in Tripura, 91 per cent in Arunachal Pradesh, 97 per cent in Sikkim and 90 per cent in Mizoram.
The Shillong West legislator said that on a country-wide level, 41 per cent of PDS kerosene allocation was lost as leakages and only 46 per cent of the remainder was used by poor households.
“Calculations suggest that leakages are large, and can – at least in the case of kerosene – be reduced without compromising household welfare,” Lyngdoh said, adding, “Moreover, the report says there is ‘suggestive evidence’ that leakages are larger in the above poverty line (APL) category rather than the BPL category.”
Lyngdoh informed that the report states that any proposal to reduce food subsidy leakages has to bear in mind the provisions of the National Food Security Act, which provides for a total of 5 kg subsidized grain (rice, wheat and/ or millet at Rs.3, Rs.2 and Re.1 per kg respectively) to households as well as cash benefits for pregnant women and hot meals for young children.
“The overall physical cost of excess PDS allocation lost in Meghalaya is Rs.106 crore,” he said.
Pointing out that the entire objective of the PDS seems to have been defeated with this colossal leakage, he said that he would specifically like to know from the government about what plan of action it will put in place since a very important report had been tabled in the Parliament indicating that the reach and purpose of the system had not been achieve.
Making a mention of aftereffects of de-control of the sugar sector in April, 2013, Lyngdoh said that the state government has been asked to buy sugar from the open market to meet the demand under the PDS.
“The state of affairs in Meghalaya till December last year was that every member of a family was entitled to 650 grams of sugar. But today it has been reduced to 3 kg per card irrespective of the number of household members,” the UDP legislator said. According to him, the impact of such leakage was being felt by the poor and underprivileged and it was imperative for the government of the day to spell out what it intends to do in order to rectify the situation.
He urged the state government to take corrective measures to rectify the discrepancies in the PDS system by streamlining the entire systems of distribution and identifying the nexus between wholesalers and officials of the Supply department.
“There is a vast disparity in the amount of allotment of food grains which is not explained by the department. Diversion of food grains to the market is an open secret. We also need to do away with the present system of frequent renewal of appointment of wholesalers,” the legislator suggested.
Incidentally, the motion could not be disposed off due to paucity of time.