PDS diversion: Govt takes action against 951 people

"Action is being taken by states/union territories against persons/officials for contravention of the provisions of PDS (Control) Order, 2001," Food and Consumer Affairs Minister K V Thomas said in the Lok Sabha.

The state governments took action against 951 persons till August of this year. In 2010, punitive action was taken against as many as 7,424 persons, he said.

The Public Distribution System (PDS) is run jointly by the centre and the state governments.

Stating that strengthening and streamlining of PDS is a continuous process, Thomas said that the state governments have been asked to take steps to remove shortcomings in the functioning of PDS.

"Some states have reported issuance of smart cards, food coupons, barcoded ration cards, etc for delivery of PDS commodities to the beneficiaries, which will help in checking leakages/diversion of foodgrains," he said.

The state governments have been asked to take up computerisation of ration shops in a time-bound manner to improve efficiency, he added.

In a written reply to a separate query, Thomas admitted that some states have failed to lift the quota of foodgrains allocated under the PDS.

"Yes, madam. However, the overall offtake against normal allocation of foodgrains under PDS has been 91.6 per cent during April-September, 2011," the minister said.

According to the data placed before Parliament, the state governments have lifted 219.2 lakh tonnes of foodgrains till September during the current fiscal, as against the allocation of 239.3 lakh tonnes for PDS distribution.

Lifting of foodgrains under various welfare schemes was lower during the concerned period. States lifted 18.84 lakh tonnes, as against the allocation of 37.40 lakh tonnes, it said.