Anna Bhagya shop loses licence for cheating BPL families

The Department of Food and Civil Supplies raided two fair price shops in the city following complaints that they were cheating BPL families under the Anna Bhagya scheme.

The licence of one shop has been cancelled while the fate of the other is yet to be decided. Discrepancies were, however, found in both the shops.

NGO Lancha Mukta Karnataka Nirmana Vedike recently conducted a sting operation on two shops and found that while one was supplying 2-3 kg less than the quota of foodgrains, the other was sending the beneficiaries away by claiming there was no stock. This happened in spite of the fact that beneficiaries provided their biometric and Aadhaar details.

On Wednesday, a team of food inspectors and the NGO visited a fair price shop in Gurappanapalya. It checked the stock and found that the details didn't match with the distribution data submitted online. The shop had a stock of 184.50 quintals of rice whereas the actual stock after the distribution, as indicated in the system, should be 152.33 quintals. Similarly, it had 800 packets of tur dal instead of 577 packets. BPL card holders statements' were recorded.

"The stock and distribution were analysed for October and it was found that the shop either under-distributed foodgrains or sent back the beneficiaries after making false entries online that the supplies had been made. Since the shop has violated the conditions of the agreement and acted in contravention of the Karnataka Essential Commodities Public Distribution System (Control) Order and the Special Conditions of Fair Price Depot Rules, its licence has been cancelled," an official said.
The team found similar discrepancies in the other shop.

It found that most fair price shops are open only for a few hours in a day to avoid distribution of foodgrains. The agreement stipulates that the shops should be open between 10 am and 2 pm and from 4 pm to 8 pm.