Admin fails to ensure doorstep delivery of food grains in J&K

Yogesh Sagotra
Jammu:The Jammu and Kashmir administration has failed to provide home delivery of highly subsidised food grains to the public distribution system (PDS) beneficiaries despite directions of the central government in this regard.
“State governments have been asked to ensure 100 percent doorstep delivery system to strengthen the PDS – also called ration shops but in Jammu and Kashmir administration seems less bothered about it,” sources said, adding, “The UT has miserably failed to implement the provisions for the doorstep delivery of food grains under National Food Security Act 2013,”
Sources further added that tenders for door step delivery were issued by many of the districts but the process initiated has still not been completed yet.
“District Level Committees (DLC’s) for the tendering process were framed under the Chairmanship of Deputy Commissioners, but many of the Deputy Commissioners are not giving their nod to the implementation of the provisions of the NFSA,” sources privy with the development said.
They added that only two districts of Jammu i.e Kishtwar and Doda have implemented the scheme and all the districts have failed for the reasons best known to them.
Some reliable sources on the conditions of anonymity have also confirmed that the fair price shop owners, who are at present managing the delivery system and receiving the payments are also a major force behind its non-implementation. It was also reported that the connivance of these Fair Price shop owners with the FCS&CA department and the District committees constituted for the purpose for its non-implementation cannot be ruled out as well.
Sources said that recent communication from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Department of Food and Public Distribution (NFSA Division) has also sought the status of door top delivery in view of the hardships being faced by few of the states and UTs which includes Himachal, J&K, Mizoram, Sikkim, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
However the Director FCS&CA Jammu in various communications to the District implementing authorities has directed for the implementation of this door step delivery system at any costs but to no avail.
Meanwhile, several attempts to contact Dr. Naseem Javaid Chowdhary, Director, FCS&CA, Jammu for comment remain futile as officer have not responded to several calls and text messages.
Though the issue of 'food security' at the household is continuously being addressed by the Government since long, through the Public Distribution System and the Targeted Public Distribution System, the enactment of the National Food Security Act, (NFSA) 2013 on July 5, 2013 marks a paradigm shift in the approach to food security from welfare to rights based approach. The Act legally entitles upto 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population to receive subsidized food grains under Targeted Public Distribution System. About two thirds of the population therefore is covered under the Act to receive highly subsidized food grains.
NFSA defines the joint responsibility of the Centre and State/UT Government. While the Centre is responsible for allocation of required food grains to States/UTs, transportation of food grains up to designated depots in each State/UT and providing central assistance to States/UTs for delivery of food grains from designated FCI godowns to the doorstep of the FPSs, the States/UTs are responsible for effective implementation of the Act, which inter-alia includes identification of eligible households, issuing ration cards to them, distribution of food grain entitlements to eligible households through fair price shops (FPS), issuance of licenses to Fair Price Shop dealers and their monitoring, setting up effective grievance redressal mechanism and necessary strengthening of Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS).
The Food Security (Assistance to State Governments) Rules, 2015 notified under the NFSAinter-alia provides that it shall be the duty of the State Government to take delivery of food grains under TPDS from the designated depots, ensure its delivery through their authorised agencies upto the agencies upto the doorstepof the fair price shops. Therefore, it was made mandatory for all the states and UTs to ensure doorstep delivery of food grains.