SHILLONG: The A’chik Youth Council (AYC) on Wednesday wrote to Deputy Chief Minister RC Laloo demanding “high-level inquiry” into the shoddy implementation of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in Garo Hills that has affected more than 80 per cent beneficiaries.
In the letter to Laloo, who is also minister in-charge of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, the council alleged that a majority of the fair price shops in the region are selling foodgrain at a higher price than what is mentioned under the act.
Also, “they provide maximum 3-4 kg of cereals per person” when the entitled amount is 5 kg per person per month, AYC said.
AYC pointed out that most of the retailers sell foodgrain at Rs 8 per kg and sometimes more than Rs 8. The rates of grains under this scheme are rice at Rs 3 per kg, wheat at Rs 2 and coarse grain (millet) at Rs 1. As per the NFSA, every devisee is right to receive 5 kg of rice at the rate of Rs. 3.
The woes do not end there. Most of the fair price shops allegedly run for three to four days in a month and work for less than five hours a day.
This is inconvenient for beneficiaries, most of whom are daily wage earners, who often fail to collect foodgrain.
“If people have to buy at a higher rate with fewer kilograms of foodgrain than the said scheme is meaningless,” the pressure group said.
Terming it as a “proft-making business”, AYC said it is a gross violation of the Food Security Act, Article 21 of the Constitution and the fundamental right of the people.
“We demand a high-level inquiry to unearth this scam and book the perpetrators, cancel the dealership licence of those who are pilfering PDS foodgrain,” the AYC said.
The pressure group also demanded a district and sub-divisional grievance redressal cell of NFSA.
