'Fair price shops will get dues this month if they submit documents'

The State government will shortly pay fair price shops the commission of Rs 34 per quintal of foodgrain they sell, Minister of State for Food and Civil Supplies Dinesh Gundu Rao said on Friday. The payment has not been made since April 2015.

Speaking on the sidelines of a state-level conference organised by the Karnataka State Government Fair Price Shop Dealers’ Association (KSGFPSDA), the minister said: “Fair price shop owners get a commission of Rs 36 per quintal from the State government and Rs 34 from the Centre. However, since April, 2015, the Centre’s share of Rs 34 commission has not been released. This was because the owners did not submit necessary documents like Aadhaar card, bank documents, etc. If they submit the same, we will release in January itself,” he said.

To check the misuse of ration supplies, vehicles carrying ration have been fitted with the Global Positioning System (GPS).

A centre would be set up to track the vehicles, the minister added.

The minister also assured to provide healthcare facilities to fair price shop owners aged above 60 years and renew their licence.

In the next few months, all the duplicate ration cards will be weeded out, he said.

KSGFPSDA president T Krishnappa said that the Centre should increase its commission to Rs 70 and the overall commission to Rs 100.

He demanded withdrawal of a hike in licence renewal fee, which now stands at Rs 5,000.