Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 21: Governor N N Vohra took a detailed review of the implementation of National Food Security Act, 2013 in a meeting held at Raj Bhavan here today. The meeting was attended by Parvez Dewan, Advisor to the Governor; B.R. Sharma, Chief Secretary; B.B. Vyas, Financial Commissioner, Planning and Development; P K Tripathi, Principal Secretary to Governor and Saurabh Bhagat, Secretary, CAPD.
It was observed in the meeting that a number of communications addressed to the Raj Bhavan have complained about factually incorrect basis on which certain beneficiaries, who are not entitled, have been categorized. The Governor directed Secretary CAPD to take immediate steps for securing the highest level of fidelity and delete bogus ration cards, after due verification. He was given clear directions to ensure that all entitled consumers are correctly categorized in the AAY, BPL and Priority categories.
The Governor directed the Secretary CAPD to ensure wide publicity of the information available in the public domain, which is hosted on the PDS portal, regarding the names and details of the rationee-consumers, which can be accessed by one and all for any scrutiny. The Governor further directed that the details of rationees should be displayed outside every Fair Price Shop and other prominent local Government offices.
In this context the Governor urged the Advisor to see that every District Development Commissioner constitutes teams under the Tehsil Supply Officers to carry out detailed physical verification of the consumers-ration card holders. Such verification shall be done with the involvement of the local Government functionaries such as VLWs, Patwaris, Panchayat members etc.
Further, local leaders, members of Panchayats, prominent citizens, both in rural and urban areas, should be involved in the process and invited to convey any error which has come to their notice. It shall be the duty of the DCs to effect all necessary corrections after conducting thorough enquiries about the lists of beneficiaries.
It was also decided that the Chief Secretary will direct every Deputy Commissioner to urgently review and clean the database particularly to ensure that the AAY and BPL categories do not have the name of Government employees or citizens in the higher income brackets, as per the norms of the exclusion laid down in the law. It was also decided that in the districts where the Data Base requires further fidelity, the DCs shall carry out intensive drives at the level of the Fair Price Shops and surprise checks shall be conducted by the DC, ADC and other senior district officers. The DCs will prepare a weekly report of the deletions / corrections made by them in the Data Base of their district and forward to Secretary CAPD who shall ensure its transmission to the Raj Bhavan.
The Governor also reviewed the status of offtake and distribution across the 22 districts of the State and directed the Secretary CAPD Department to ensure that the required quantities of foodgrains are made available for timely distribution in every district. Secretary CAPD shall immediately undertake an exercise to examine the feasibility of processing and distributing ration for six months at a time i.e. twice a year to the beneficiaries in properly sealed bags so that the distribution and the delivery system is made fool proof.
A team of CAPD officials shall study the available best practices in the neighbouring States and evolve a pragmatic distribution scheme before launching the new framework from the month of July, 2016.
The Governor also reviewed the implementation of the SAC’s decision of 14th March to provide 2 kg additional ration to the category of BPL (Priority House Hold (PHH) and non Priority Households and asked the Advisor to ensure that all required arrangements regarding procurement of additional foodgrains from Food Corporation of India, transportation of stocks and the distribution system through Fair Price Shops and Government Depots is fully tied up, in every manner.
Governor directed B.B Vyas, Financial Commissioner, Information Department, to ensure the widest possible publicity through all media to the rates applicable to the various categories under the special dispensation decided by the State Government.
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