Tag: PDS

Reforms in PDS in Bangla in the last seven years

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To ensure proper distribution and access of essential food, the State Government’s Food & Supplies (F&S) Department has brought about end-to end reforms in the management of the public distribution system (PDS).

The public distribution system consists of the public distribution outlets (PDO), which are basically fair-price shops (FPS) and are commonly known as ration shops.

TPDS through use of ICT

Essentially, PDS has been changed to TPDS, that is, targeted public distribution system. A major reform in this regard has been the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the management of the TPDS.

This includes:

  • Creation of electronic databank of all the stakeholders of the PDS
  • Online allocation of foodgrains up to the FPS levels
  • Doorstep delivery by distributors to dealers
  • SMS-based information to the FPS-wise registered mobile users regarding allocation and availability of foodgrains

 

Other uses of ICT in the PDS

Other aspects of the use of ICT include:

  • Complete online supply chain management
  • Call centre-based public grievance redressal system including voice recording mechanism
  • Online renewal of license for more than 21,000 FPS dealers and distributors, 31,000 superior kerosene oil dealers and agents, and, 10,000 licensees of other petroleum products like LPG, lubricating oil, petrol pumps, etc.
  • Integrated online MIS generation from the level of sub-divisional controller of Food & Supplies (SCF&S) and upwards
  • Publication of new PDS control orders and modified control orders for the distribution of foodgrains in tea gardens through government outlets have been completed

Another major achievement has been the completion of digitisation of 8.59 crore ration card data as on January 31, 2015 and the completion of online supply chain management for the distribution of foodgrains.

Awareness generation regarding PDS

  • The Food & Supplies Department has also undertaken a massive drive for public awareness generation for people’s entitlement through TPDS
  • Regular publicity through audio spots on All India Radio, display of banners, publicity by miking and through skits by local artistes in gram panchayats and municipalities is creating improved awareness among the people
  • Advertisement through print as well as electronic media is being done at regular intervals
  • A monthly periodical named Sanbadnama is being published by the department.
  • Since 2016, January 27 is being observed as Khadya Sathi Dibas

 

Toll-free grievance redressal system

  • A 12×7 call centre (that is, 12 hours a day on all days of the week) equipped with call resource management and document management system has been set up
  • Anyone can get information or lodge complaints using the toll-free helpline numbers – 18003455505 and 1967
  • People can also track the status of grievance redressal online through the portal of the F&S Department
  • In all districts, an additional district magistrate has been designated as the district grievance redressal officer to address PDS-related complaints

 

Budgetary outlay apropos PDS increased

For achieving the above goals, the Trinamool Congress Government has increased the budgetary outlay manifold during its period in power.

Whereas in FY 2010-11, the total outlay for PDS was only Rs 2,199 crore, that in FY 2018-19 was Rs 8,037 crore, an increase by more than 3.6 times.

Hence, it can be said that Bangla’s public distribution system, the lifeline of the foodgrain supply scheme of the government, has improved hugely. Work is constantly going on to streamline the system of distribution as well as that of solving any issue that may arise.

 

Bengal Govt to start providing more facilities at tea gardens

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The Bengal Government will soon start providing more facilities to the tea garden workers, who have been facing a lot of hardship because of the forced closure of the tea gardens till a few months back.

The situation has been improving steadily, and now the government has decided to extend further help in the form of opening a health centre, a modified ration shop (MR shop), which is essentially a fair-price shop, and a labour office in each tea garden.

The three will be housed in a three-storey building, for constructing which the State Government will give Rs 8.77 lakh to each tea garden. Foodgrains which could not be distributed due to the 104-day closure of the gardens would be distributed at the earliest.

The government will also construct four warehouses to stock foodgrains in Darjeeling, Kurseong, Mirik and Kalimpong. In case foodgrains fail to arrive from the plains during emergencies like natural calamities, the public distribution system (PDS) will continue to operate with the help of the existing stock in these four storages.

Over the last year or so, following the special initiative of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the State Government has provided a lot of help to the tea garden workers, including providing foodgrains at special prices, lesser than the normal prices at ration shops under the public distribution system (PDS).

Source: Millennium Post

 

চা বাগান কর্মীদের জন্য একগুচ্ছ উদ্যোগ রাজ্যের

রাজ্যের চা বাগান কর্মীদের জন্য একগুচ্ছ নতুন উদ্যোগ নিতে চলেছে রাজ্য সরকার। চা বাগান বন্ধ থাকার দরুন কর্মীদের যে সমস্যা হয়েছে তারই নিরসন করতে উদ্যোগী সরকার।

গত কয়েক মাসে কিছুটা হলেও অবস্থার উন্নতি হয়েছে এই বাগানগুলিতে। এদের আরও সাহায্য করতে রাজ্য সরকার সিদ্ধান্ত নিয়েছে বাগানগুলিতে একটি করে স্বাস্থ্যকেন্দ্র, রেশনের দোকান, এবং লেবার অফিস খোলার।

এই তিনটি কেন্দ্রই খোলা হবে একটি ভবনে। এই ভবন নির্মাণের জন্য রাজ্য সরকার ৮.৭৭ লক্ষ টাকা করে দেবে প্রত্যেকটি চা বাগানকে।

অতি শীঘ্রই খাদ্যশস্যও বিতরণ করা হবে কর্মীদের মধ্যে। দার্জিলিং, কার্শিয়ং, মিরিক ও কালিম্পঙে খাদ্যশস্য যোগানের জন্য ৪টি গুদামও তৈরী করবে রাজ্য।

মুখ্যমন্ত্রী মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়ের অনুপ্রেরণায় চা বাগান কর্মীদের দুটাকা কেজি চাল দেওয়া হয় খাদ্য দপ্তরের তরফে।

Bengal Govt gears up to celebrate World Food Day

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The State Government is going to celebrate World Food Day today. A function to commemorate the event will be held at 11 AM.

From the day she assumed the chair of Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee has worked towards ensuring food for all. The Food and Supplies Department is working towards fulfilling her dream.

• The Govt has procured record quantity of paddy this year. 39.52 lakh metric tonnes of paddy have been procured from 6.29 lakh farmers at minimum support price.

• Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee initiated the Khadya Sathi food security scheme to provide rice and wheat at Rs 2 per kg to around seven crore people, which is almost 90 per cent of the state’s population, including special packages for the people of Jangalmahal and the Hills, the Cyclone Aaila-affected, the farmers of Singur, workers and non-workers of closed tea gardens, the tribals of Totopara in Alipurduar district, and destitute and homeless people.

• Allocation of foodgrains under PDS has been increased manifold during the last six years

• Special drive in association with the Health and Family Welfare Department to provide free-of-cost nutritional support ( package of 5 kg rice, 2.5 kg wheat, 1 kg masoor dal and 1 kg Bengal gram per month per month ) to approximately 4,000 severely acute malnourished children and their mothers per annum

• Storage capacity of grains distributed through PDS enhanced from 62,000 metric tonnes (MT) to 6 lakh MT

• Special food packages are distributed during festive season (Eid, Durga Puja, Kali Puja, Chhat) to cater to the needs of the people.

The Bengal Government is committed to ensure that every citizen of the State has access to food.

 

আজ বিশ্ব খাদ্য দিবস পালন করা হল রাজ্যে

মুখ্যমন্ত্রী মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়ের অনুপ্রেরণায় ও খাদ্য ও সরবরাহ দপ্তরের উদ্যোগে আজ বেলা ১১টায় ‘বিশ্ব খাদ্য দিবস’ পালন করা হল।

মাননীয়া মুখ্যমন্ত্রীর আহ্বান ‘সকলের জন্য খাদ্য’। তাঁর এই আহ্বান কার্যকর করার লক্ষ্যে খাদ্য ও সরবরাহ দপ্তর কাজ করে চলেছে।

• চলতি বছরে রেকর্ড পরিমাণ ধান সংগ্রহ করেছে রাজ্য সরকার। চলতি বছরে ৬ লক্ষ ২৯ হাজার কৃষকদের থেকে ন্যূনতম সহায়ক মুল্যে ৩৯ লক্ষ ৫২ হাজার মেট্রিক টন ধান সংগ্রহ করা হয়েছে।

• গত ছয় বছরে রাজ্যের খাদ্য শস্য মজুত ভাণ্ডারের রাখার ক্ষমতা ১০ গুণ বৃদ্ধি করা হয়েছে।যার ফলে বর্তমানে রাজ্যে খাদ্য মজুত ভাণ্ডারের পরিমাণ ৬ লক্ষ ১০ হাজার মেট্রিক টন। বর্তমানে আরও ৩ লক্ষ ৫০ হাজার মেট্রিক টন বাড়ানোর কাজ চলছে।

• চা বাগানের ৮ লক্ষ ওয়ার্কার, নন-ওয়ার্কার রয়েছেন। প্রতি মাসে সেই সমস্ত পরিবার ৩৫ কিলো করে খাবার পান।

• রাজ্য সরকারের তৎপরতায় পাহাড়ে ৮ লক্ষ ৭৫ হাজার মানুষকে রেশন ব্যবস্থায় আনা হয়েছে। প্রত্যেকে ১১ কেজি করে খাবার পাচ্ছেন।

• খাদ্য ও সরবরাহ দপ্তর রাজ্যের প্রায় ৮ কোটি ৩৪ লক্ষ অর্থাৎ ৯১ শতাংশ মানুষকে গণবণ্টন প্রক্রিয়ার মাধ্যমে খাদ্যসাথী প্রকল্পের আওতার মধ্যে এনেছে। এই ৯১ শতাংশ মানুষের মধ্যে আছেন জঙ্গলমহল এলাকাবাসী, সিঙ্গুরের অনিচ্ছুক কৃষক পরিবার, আয়লায় ক্ষতিগ্রস্ত পরিবার, বন্ধ চা বাগানের শ্রমিক ও তাঁদের পরিবার এবং পার্বত্য অঞ্চলের বসবাসকারী জনসাধারণ।

• এছাড়াও গম, চিনি, কেরোসিন তেল ও উৎসব মরশুমে (ঈদ, রমজান, দুর্গোৎসব, কালীপুজো, ছট) ভোজ্য তেল, ছোলা, ময়দা, চিনি সরবরাহ করা হয়।

সারা রাজ্যে স্বাস্থ্য ও পরিবার কল্যাণ দপ্তরের সহযোগিতায় অপুষ্ট শিশু ও তাঁদের মায়েদের ৫ কিলোগ্রাম চাল, ১ কিলোগ্রাম মসুর ডাল, ২.৫ কিলোগ্রাম গম বা পুষ্টিযুক্ত আটা এবং ১ কিলোগ্রাম ছোলা বিতরণ করা হচ্ছে।

Source:- West Bengal Food & Supply Department News Paper Advertisement

RS Chairman admonishes CPM MP for “petty politics”, allows supplementary TMC Question

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While asking a supplementary question in the Rajya Sabha, Trinamool MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy today informed the House that almost 80 per cent of people in Bengal have been brought under the ambit of the public distribution system.

He also described how the people of Maoist-affected backward regions used to survive on ant eggs during the CPM rule in Bengal. He urged the Centre to increase allocations of food grains so that all the citizens of the State are covered under PDS.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari today admonished a CPM MP for “doing petty politics” over a question. “Why are you bringing your political battles inside the House” he said.

WB Govt sets up six ration shops outside closed tea gardens

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The State Food Department has set up six ration shops outside the gates of five closed tea gardens, so that the tea garden workers, along with the people living in the fringe areas of those five closed tea gardens, can get the benefit of procuring ration from those shops.

State Food Minister Jyotipriya Mullick said in the Assembly lobby that these ration shops have been set up by the Food Department, each at a cost of Rs 6.24 lakh. The minister said that ration shops have been set up outside Red Bank, Surendranagar, Dekhlapara, Dalmore and Kathalguritea tea gardens, with two being set up outside Kathalguri.

The Minister alleged that during the Left Front tenure, tea garden managers were given charge of ration shops and “after we came to power we found out that these managers most of the time failed to distribute ration evenly among the closed tea garden workers, which led to starvation.”

The Minister further said that his department has chosen some efficient self-help groups to run these ration shops and that these groups are now effectively running the ration shops outside these closed tea gardens.

At present, 1.03 lakh workers, their family members and those living adjacent to these closed tea gardens are the beneficiaries of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s special package of rice at Rs 2 per kg. He said Rs 1,080 crore is being spent on the special package and a total of 3.28 lakh people are the beneficiaries of this package.

 

Food Security scheme to be implemented all over Bengal by August 2015

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The West Bengal Government is taking initiative to start Food Security schemes all over the State by the coming August. The new schemes have already been implemented South Dinajpur in April and Coochbehar in May.

This month, Uttar Dinajpur will be brought under this scheme and by July, it will be implemented in Nadia, Maldah, Jalpaiguri, Howrah and Hooghly.

Through this scheme, around 6.01 crore people in the State, below poverty line, will get rice at Rs 2/kg.

Incidentally, the West Bengal Government now pay subsidy to provide rice at Rs 2/kg to 3.28 crore people in the State.

Since, the scheme will be operated through ration shops, those will be also under strict vigil and will not be able to do any illegal selling of stocks.

The State Government had made a survey last year and the names of the beneficiaries are being listed according to the survey report. The State Government will also provide digital ration cards to the people who will be under this scheme.

The names of the people enlisted under this scheme are also being put up in the website of the state Food Department for transparency.

Bengal Govt expands PDS, rolls out digitised ration cards

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West Bengal under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee is giving highly subsidised food grains to more than 3 crore people. West Bengal Government intends to cover more than 6 crore people with subsidised food grains among the 9.13 crore population of the State.

The public distribution system has been thoroughly overhauled through massive e-Governance measures. Bar coded or quick response digital ration cards are being used to all eligible beneficiaries.  More than 7.8 crore ration cards have been digitised.

West Bengal Government has started distribution of such digital ration cards in Dakshin Dinajpur and other distribution will be started in other districts too.

She also posted about the exapansion of PDS on twitter: