Lok Sabha Question No. 1505 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-25
Subject: Corruption in PDS
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: PRABHAS KUMAR SINGH

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1505 TO BE ANSWERED ON 25 th  JULY, 2017

## CORRUPTION IN PDS

1505. DR. PRABHAS KUMAR SINGH:

Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k ea=h be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has received complaints regarding irregularities in Public Distribution System (PDS);
- (b) if so, the details thereof during the last three years, State-wise;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  any  plan  to  strengthen  and  streamline  the PDS; and
- (d)
- if so, the details thereof?

## N S W E R

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR  CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI C. R. CHAUDHARY)

- (a) & (b): There have been complaints about irregularities in the functioning of the  Targeted  Public  Distribution  System  (TPDS)  including  leakage/diversion  of foodgrains, foodgrains not reaching the intended beneficiaries, issuance of ration cards  to  ineligible  persons,  etc.  in  some  States/regions  in  the  country.  TPDS  is operated under the joint responsibility of the Central and the State/Union Territory (UT)  Governments wherein  the  operational  responsibilities  for  implementation  of TPDS  within the State/UT rest with the State/UT  Governments  concerned. Therefore, as  and  when  complaints  are  received  by  the  Government  from individuals and organizations as well as through press reports, these are referred to  the  State/UT  Governments  concerned,  if  required,  for  inquiry  and  appropriate action. A statement indicating State-wise number of complaints on Targeted Public Distribution System [TPDS] received from 2014 to 2016 is at Annexure.
- (c) & (d): The Government has initiated a Plan Scheme  on End-to-end Computerisation of TPDS operations on cost sharing basis with States / UTs. The Scheme comprises of  activities  namely,  digitization  of  ration  cards/beneficiaries and other databases, computerisation of supply-chain management, setting up of transparency  portals  and  grievance  redressal  mechanisms  and  installation  of  ePoS  devices  at  Fair  Price  Shops  and  issuance  of  foodgrains  through  biometric authentication. 100% ration cards have been digitized and approximately 2.45 lakh e-PoS  devices  are  currently  installed  at  Fair  Price  Shops.  Aadhaar  Seeding  at national level is 78.6%. Online allocation is being done in 30 States/UTs, supplychain management implemented in 20 States/UTs, Transparency Portal set up in all States/UTs, and online Grievance Redressal Mechanism / toll free helpline number has been set up in all States/UTs.

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ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  &  (b) OF THE UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1505 DUE FOR ANSWER ON 25.07.2017 IN THE LOK SABHA

## STATEMENT:   COMPLAINTS ON TPDS RECEIVED  IN THE DEPARTMENT FROM INDIVIDUALS, ORGANISATIONS & THROUGH MEDIA REPORTS ETC FROM 2014 TO 2016

| S. No.              | State/UT    | 2014   | 2015   | 2016   |
|---------------------|-------------|--------|--------|--------|
| 1 Andhra            | Pradesh 4   | 8      |        | 5      |
| 2 Arunachal         | Pradesh 1   |        | 1      | -      |
| 3                   | Assam       | 5      | 34     | 32     |
| 4                   | Bihar       | 55     | 106    | 81     |
| 5 Chhattisgarh      | 3           |        | 6      | 9      |
| 6 Delhi             |             | 78     | 113    | 91     |
| 7                   | Goa         | -      | -      | 1      |
| 8                   |             | 16     | 8      | 12     |
| Gujarat 9           | Haryana     | 26     | 35     | 34     |
| 10 Himachal Pradesh | -           |        | 4      | 5      |
| 11                  | J&K         | -      | 5      | 3      |
| 12 Jharkhand        |             | 16     | 32     | 29     |
| 13 Karnataka        | 6           |        | 16     | 22     |
| 14                  | Kerala      | 1      | 16     | 22     |
| 15 Madhya Pradesh   | 7           |        | 17     | 24     |
| 16 Maharashtra      |             | 25     | 48     | 62     |
| 17 Manipur          | 1           |        | 6      | 4      |
| 18 Meghalaya        | 2           |        | 7      | 9      |
| 19                  | Mizoram     | -      | -      | -      |
| 20                  | Nagaland    | 3      | -      | 2      |
| 21                  | Orissa      | 8      | 22     | 43     |
| 22                  | Punjab      | 5      | 10     | 7      |
| 23 Rajasthan        |             | 31     | 33     | 59     |
| 24                  | Sikkim      | -      | -      | -      |
| 25 Tamil            | Nadu        | 7      | 22     | 33     |
| 26                  | Telangana   | -      | 10     | 1      |
| 27                  | Tripura     | -      | -      | 1      |
| 28                  | Uttarakhand | 8      | 24     | 21     |
| 29 Uttar            | Pradesh     | 137    | 197    | 461    |
| 30 West             | Bengal      | 11     | 32     | 29     |
| 31 A&N              | Island      | -      | -      | 1      |
| 32                  | Chandigarh  | 3      | 6      | 2      |
| 33                  | D& N Haveli | 1      | -      | 1      |
| 34                  | Puducherry  | -      | -      | -      |
| TOTAL               | TOTAL       | 460    | 818    | 1106   |