Chhattisgarh ration shops have no ration
The claim: “We give 3.2 million families 35 kg of rice each every month at Rs 3 per kg. The price was brought down from Rs 6.25 per kg in January,” said Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh at a seminar on food security through public distribution system (PDS) on March 25, 2008.
Ground reality: “Only 110 kg of rice has arrived at the fair price shop (ration shop) as stock for April. This means barely three card holders will get the quota; against 185 BPL cards issued,” Santlal of Mouabhatta village, Raipur, told the Down To Earth (DTE) correspondent on March 27, 2008.
Sanju Dewangan, member of a cooperative society that runs ration shops in seven other villages in the district, corroborates Santlal’s claims. “Hopefully, some more stock will arrive during the month, but I am not sure,” he said.
The only option left, for Santlal and other villagers, is to buy rice from the open market at Rs 12-15 per kg. But the fair price shop at Mouabhatta had almost 6,500 kg of rice from the stocks received before December 2007. “This is the Rs 6.25 per kg stock. We haven’t received any orders from the government to disburse them,” Dewangan said. Chhattisgarh food and civil supplies department’s deputy director, Rajesh Jaiswal, told DTE they were in the process of issuing written orders to cooperatives to begin the disbursement of the old stock at Rs 3 per kg.
Alok Shukla, secretary, food and civil supplies, said leakages in PDS had stopped. “Private players are out. Cooperatives and self-help groups are in,” he said. However, two months ago villagers in Kanker district found 6,500 kg of rice was being “smuggled” into Orissa from a cooperative in the district. It was done on the pretext of shifting supplies from one fair price shop to the other.
Villagers said cases of missing sugar and kerosene stocks were common and added that in some places, iodized salt, supposed to be sold at 25 paise per kg, was being sold at 50 paise per kg.
Skewed seven Sitaram Sonwani, resident of Peepercheri village in Raipur, said the grey card, meant for the SC and ST, had not been given to many belonging to the Kamar and the Bhunjiya tribes (see box: Colour code). Members of the Baiga community faces a similar problem. “Some have the cards. Others have given applications but there is no response,” said Shikari Baiga, resident of Bokhrabara in Kawardha district. A little away from Bokhrabara is another Baiga settlement, Singari. People displaced from the Daldali bauxite mines in Kawardha stay in this village. They can use their cards only at a ration shop near their former village, about 35 km away. They are waiting for a new ration card to avail of facilities at a shop within 10 km of Singari. “For 35 kg of rice at Rs 105 we spend Rs 80-90 on the travel,” said Lahru Singh, a Singari resident.
Colour code
|
We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.