A leaking system

It is not the first time that the Centre has asked the states to review their foodgrain allocation quotas if they failed to curb the leakage of grains from the targeted public distribution system (TPDS). The recipe suggested by the Union food ministry for this purpose seeks to ensure the delivery of foodgrains to the fair price shops (FPS), tracking the movement of trucks carrying grains, computerising the grain management operations and verifying the genuineness of ration cards. These measures, if implemented effectively, can surely curtail, even if not eliminate, the foodgrains leakage. As revealed by the ORG-Marg survey, nearly 37 per cent of all the foodgrains allocated to the states are frittered away. What is worse, the diversion of wheat is reported to be almost 100 per cent in north-eastern states, where the grains are reached under difficult circumstances, incurring huge costs. Such weaknesses in the foodgrains delivery mechanism are bloating the food subsidy bill, which, in any case, is bound to exceed the budget estimates this year by a wide margin, thanks to wheat imports at costs much higher than those of the domestically procured stocks.

At the root of the problem, indeed, are the inherent structural flaws in the PDS. While the grains are procured, stored and supplied to the states by the Centre, the entire down-stream management is in the hands of the state governments. The problems begin to surface right from the stage of identification of the below-the-poverty-line (BPL) households to be covered under the system. As pointed out by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in his recent report, the number of BPL families identified by the states for PDS coverage is nearly 32 per cent higher than that reckoned by the Centre. What is worse, despite this, a large section of the population, which actually deserves cheap food from the TPDS, lacks access to it. The extent of this problem can be better gauged from a recent sample survey in Karnataka which indicated that while the inclusion-error (referring to non-deserving people holding ration cards) was as high as over 40 per cent, the exclusion-error (deserving people being left out) was equally disquieting at nearly 22 per cent.

Thus, it is imperative that the TPDS is revamped without any loss of time. Fortunately, this task does not seem very difficult, especially since the ways and means, including technology, are now available to monitor foodgrains movement and ensure scrupulous identification of the beneficiaries. Some states have shown the way by using the satellite-based global positioning system (GPS) to track the movement of trucks carrying PDS foodgrains (as in Chhattisgarh) and computerising different PDS operations (as in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka) and putting the whole information on the websites to ensure transparency. Even the involvement of Panchayati Raj institutions and women's self-help groups in running ration shops and identifying the beneficiaries has been tried out with good results in some states.