Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 5: Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali, Minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD), called on Governor N. N. Vohra at the Raj Bhavan.
The Minister briefed the Governor about the ongoing schemes and steps initiated by his Department for ensuring timely, adequate and equal distribution of rations, particularly in the far off areas of the State. The Minister informed that CAPD is providing ration from September 1, 2015 to 6.70 lakh additional families, on the basis of 2011 Census.
Regarding the implementation of National Food Security Act in State, the Minister informed that this Statute, to be enforced in the State w.e.f February 1, 2016, will enable the CAPD to provide rations to 119.00 lakh souls of whom 74.13 lakh belong to the marginalized, deprived and downtrodden sections of the society at highly subsidized rates of Rs. 3 & Rs. 2 for rice and atta, respectively.
Further, 45.00 lakh souls will be provided rations at the prevalent APL rates i.e. rice @ Rs 10 and atta @ Rs. 8 per kg. Besides, there will be uniformity of scale @5 per kg per soul among all categories except the rationees covered under AAY who will be provided rations @35 kgs per family.
The Minister further informed that his Department will move towards the delivery of a highly targeted public distribution system as the development of the Robust Adhaar Enabled data Base will help in identifying de-duplications and eradicating bogus ration cards. And if any identified beneficiary is denied ration he shall be given a food security allowance.
The Minister also apprised the Governor that among the other initiatives taken by his Department an e-PDS Project costing Rs 20 crore was being set up to regulate the supply chain management; mapping the entire movement of food grains from FCI Godowns to the ultimate customers; installation of IP cameras in the major Godowns in the State; electronic weighing scales at the sale points; display of stock positions; and online monitoring of foodgrains to make the system fully transparent.
The Governor was also informed about the development 5 “Smart tribal Villages” during the current financial year under the Convergence Scheme. He said that, for the first time, an attempt has been made for creation of tangible assets for making judicious use of tribal funds and ensuring availability of basic facilities like electricity, drinking water and road connectivity in the areas inhabited by the backward tribal population.
The Minister reported that an amount of Rs. 5.00 crore has been earmarked for the current financial year for imparting training in different trades to the tribal youths for achieving the twin targets of employability and market oriented skills for tribal youth. Besides, an amount of Rs. 7.00 crore has been approved to be released during the current financial year for construction of seven Tribal Hostels to be constructed at Samba, poonch, Rajouri, Bandipora, Baramulla, Kupwara and Srinagar. To streamline disbursement of scholarships to the tribal students, the scholarship amount now are being credited directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.
The Governor complimented the Minister for the initiatives being taken by the Departments under his charge and urged him to keep the people fully informed about their entitlement of rations. This could be done through local newspapers and TV channels.
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