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Shri Sharad Pawar, Minister of Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution underlined the need for decentralised procurement of wheat and rice to make the Public Distribution system cost effective and to cater to local tastes. Addressing a meeting of the Consultative Committee of members of Parliament attached to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution here today, the minister said that the concerned state governments were urged to undertake procurement of foodgrains in their areas to meet their PDS requirement.
The BPL off take has increased more than three times from 44 lakh tonnes during 1997-98 to more than 199 lakh tonnes - including Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY)-during 2003-04. Under AAY, the off take was around 86 per cent during 2001-02 and 2002-03 while the off take under BPL and AAY during 2003-04 had been 70 per cent and 91 per cent respectively. Under AAY the off take of foodgrains has crossed 78 per cent in 2004-05 up to October 2004.
Shri Pawar enumerated the measures undertaken by the ministry for achieving the commitment of the government to create a hunger free India and to reform PDS so as to serve the poorest of the poor. The Antyodaya Anna Yojana has been expanded in 2003-04 by adding 50 lakh BPL households and with this 1.5 crore families (23 percent of BPL) have been brought under the benefit of the scheme. As announced in Union Budget, 2004-05, the scheme has been further expanded by another 50 lakh familes by including more households at the risk of hunger. The present monthly allocation of foodgrains under AAY is around 4.9 lakh tonnes per month.
As a follow up of State Food Ministers’ Conference held in October 2004 the ministry has proposed a number of steps for streamlining the PDS, which include making fair price shops viable by allowing them to sell utility items other than those distributed under PDS, function as LPG/Kerosene oil dealers, STD booth operators etc. The Ministry of Finance has been requested to consider fair price shops as priority sector for providing bank credits. Responding to suggestions from members for preventing diversion of foodgrains from ration shops, the minister informed that the ministry has constituted task force teams to check regularity and for inspections and monitoring of TPDS (Targetted Public Distribution System) and AAY in identified areas. The PDS Control Order 2001 provided for constant review and updating of families for issue of ration cards and deletion of ineligible units, the minister informed.
The meeting was attended by Shri Kanti Lal Bhuria, Minister of State for Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and senior officials of Department of Food and Public Distribution as well as Food Corporation of India.
The Members of the Consultative Committee who attended the meeting include: S/Shri A. Sai Prathap, Lalit Mohan Suklabaidya, Jai Parkash, P.C. Gaddigoudar, Suresh Ganapat Wagmare, K. Francis George, M. Appadurai, Dhanaraj, Ranen Barman and Ms. Archana Nayak (from Lok Sabha), Jayantilal Barot, Paiden Tsering Gyamtso, C. Perumal and C. Ramachandraiah (from Rajya Sabha).
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