The food distribution agencies of states across India have failed to lift the desired quantities of foodgrains under the additional allocation made recently for the Public Distribution System, says the Food Corporation of India (FCI), the central government’s procurement and storage agency.
FCI sought instructions from the Centre in September to offload an additional 2.5 million tonnes for the PDS as a consequence of the reports about poor storage and rotting of grain in various places. The allocation was futher revised to 3.06 mt, of 1.68 mt wheat and 1.38 mt rice.
“The allocation was made on September 7 we have been able to disburse 165,000 tonnes only. We need to take up the matter with the state agencies, on the tepid reponse from their side. The additional allocation has to be exhausted by March 2011 but the pace of movement is not satisfactory,” said Siraj Hussain, FCI’s chairman and managing director.
The states of Bihar, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have lifted small quantities of rice. Wheat has been lifted only by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Assam and Uttarakhand. All states are lagging on the quota allocated to each.
Senior officials in the departments of food and civil supplies in the states said it was done for the first time on this scale and the supplies were in batches, so the grains could not be distributed consistently.
The central government has now released the additional stock for the next six months. The officials also said the beneficiaries were not mobilised for the additional allocation.
The government has also become flexible by incorporating above-poverty-line families in the additional allocation, so this may help to expedite distribution, said an official.