NEW DELHI: The
government might have recently dismissed the Planning Commission and
ORG-MARG reports on the public distribution system (PDS) as an old
story but here is fresh evidence that the food safety net for the poor
is full of holes.
The first auditory survey conducted by the Comptroller and Auditor
General (CAG) on PDS has revealed that while 40% of beneficiaries were
kept away from the scheme by denying them ration cards, 99% of those
who availed the benefits reported they had not received foodgrains
regularly.
The CAG's scathing report of the dismal condition of PDS comes on the
heels of a review commissioned by the government which had pointed out
that foodgrain for the poor was being siphoned off through more than 2
crore ghost-cards. Earlier, the ORG-MARG report had provided evidence
that more than 90% of foodgrain going to the north-eastern states was
being stolen while almost half of all the foodgrain for the entire
country was being siphoned off.
But the government had recently in its defence claimed that it had
worked to improve the system substantially. The CAG survey conducted in
Manipur though makes the Centre's claims sound hollow. In the food
deficient, insurgency-hit state which entirely depends on Central
allocations to sustain its economy, while assessing the ground reality
of the government's ambitious programme in north-east, CAG has found
the foodgrain supply chain in tatters.
The findings of the 2007 survey paint a very disturbing picture on the
extent of diversion of the heavily subsidised foodgrains. The report
said beneficiaries in the state had received rice once in 10 months on
an average during the period 2002 to 2005.
About 43% of the respondents complained of being overcharged by the
Fixed Price Shops — rates varied between Rs 4 and Rs 8 per kg for the
rice as against the prescribed end retail price of Rs 3 per kg as per
the Antyodaya Anna Yojana scheme of PDS.
About 28% of the ration cardholders stated that they had not received
any rice (a majority in Manipur consumes only rice) at all during the
entire period of the last four years (2002 to 2005) while those who
reported to have received some, the quantity was below 8 kg on an
average a month against the sanction of 35 kg.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/40_of_poor_denied_benefits_under_PDS/rssarticleshow/2933850.cms
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