Margao FPS divert foodgrains meant for poor to caterers and restaurants
Facts and figures do not lie. And if civil supplies ministeris to be believed, commodities at fair price shops in Margao are being siphonedoff and routed to independent caterers or retailers in the market.
On an average 65,000 kg of rice is consumed per month byconsumers as per figures available with the two fair price shops – MadgaumConsumer Co-op Society as Comba and Adarsh Society. Further this is consumed by6,000 above poverty line card holders.
This information was provided by Civil Supplies Minister,Dayanand Mandrekar in response to former chief minister Digambar Kamat’s queryin the Assembly.
Simple maths shows that almost 10 kgs or rice and 10 litresof oil is used by one household per month from the fair price shop.Consequently the cost of rice comes to Rs 4.68 crores per year and Rs 65 lakhper year for oil, which actually does not reach to the ration card holders.
It is a known thing that Margao has large number of middleclass and upper middle class families, who do not avail of fair price shopcommodities.
“I was surprised that the civil supplies showed such highfigures of consumption of rice and oil, even as majority of the people complainof non-availability of commodities at fair price shops. That is why I raisedthe issue in the House,” former chief minister said.
Mandrekar on the other hand said that his department onlyprovided funds for the Public Distribution System and was not involved in thesupply or purchase of commodities. “The possibility of a scam or siphoning ofthese commodities is very high. But the civil supplies office can act againstthese large PDS distribution only if someone lodges a complaint,” Mandrekar said.
It’s surprising that the former CM raised the query nowafter the change in government and not when he was in power, he wondered.
In open market oil cost Rs 80 per litre and rice Rs 45 perkg. At the fair price shop a litre ofoil costs Rs 60 per litre and rice costs a meagre Rs 10 per kg. This gives ample opportunity for illegaltrading between fair price shop managers and caterers and sometimes even withUdipi restaurants in Margao. The real ration card holders are left high anddry.
According to some market traders fair price owners divertsupply to private caterers, who cater to Hindu weddings across Margao, Ponda,Mardol and Canacona.
The former CM said that he was clueless about siphoning ofcommodities from the fair price shops during his tenure as Chief Ministerbetween January 2010 to April 2012. The facts and figures provided by civilsupplies minister was actually for the same period. Even more chilling info wasthat the supply of rice to these two fair price shops touched 1.35 lakh and1.40 lakh kgs for the months of August 2010 and August 2011.
Market Federation Chairman Narayan Naik downplayed the issueasserting that no complaints were received by his department and as such noaction has been initiated against these erring fair price shops. The civilsupplies department looks after distribution of the commodities and thereforethe onus lies on them, he further said.
“People making allegations of rice and oil pilferage fromfair price shops but nobody lodges an official complaint. So how are we toprobe such matters,” questioned former Civil Supplies Minister Jose PhillipeD’Souza.
As per a Central Vigilance Committee report in July headedby (Retd) Justice D P Wadwa, recommendations have been made to the governmentof Goa to withdraw ration cards from majority of the Goan population, who donot use their cards to purchase commodities at Fair price shops and also to increasecommissions to Fair Price Shop owners to reduce siphoning of commodities intothe open market.
