Lok Sabha Question No. 170 (STARRED), answered on 2017-03-14
Subject: Ration Cards and Fair Price Shops
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: R. PARTHIPAN, C.S. PUTTARAJU

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 170 TO BE ANSWERED ON 14 TH  MARCH, 2017

## RATION CARDS AND FAIR PRICE SHOPS

- *170. SHRI R. PA RTHIPAN: SHRI C.S. PUTTA RAJU:

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

- (a) the  total  number  of  ration  cards  issued  and  Fair  Price  Shops operational in the country at present, State/UT-wise;
- (b) whether the Government  has  any  mechanism  for  redressal of grievances of the consumers under the Public Distribution System (PDS) and if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken to redress the grievances;
- (c) the steps taken to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of PDS by the Government;
- (d) whether several irregularities, including diversion of PDS foodgrains, prevalence of fake ration cards, supply of poor quality foodgrains and charging of high price have been reported during the last three years and the current year; and
- (e) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  corrective  measures  taken  by  the Government in this regard indicating the number of  cases reported and the losses suffered as a result thereof, State/ UT-wise?

A N S W E R MINISTER OF  CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI RAMVILAS PASWAN)

(a) to (e):  A statement is laid on the Table of the House ****

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (e) OF THE STARRED QUESTION NO. *170 DUE FOR ANSWER ON 14.03.2017 IN THE LOK SABHA.

(a):  As  per  information  received  from  States/UTs,  a  statewise  statement showing the number of ration cards issued  and registered FPS on Annexure-I.

(b):  NFSA  provides  for  two  tier  Grievance  Redressal  Mechanism  in  each State/UT  including  District  Grievance  Redressal  Officer  and  State  Food Commission. Besides, Toll Free help line numbers (1967 / 1800 Series) are also made available by State/UT Governments to beneficiaries for registration of their grievances.

(c) to (e):   In  a  continuous endeavour to strengthen and streamline TPDS, the Government  has  initiated  implementation  of  'End-to-end  Computerisation  of TPDS  Operations'  during  the  12 th   Five  Year  Plan  (2012-17)  on  cost  sharing basis with the States/UTs to ensure transparency and check leakages in the TPDS  system.  The  Scheme  comprises  of  activities  namely,  digitization  of ration cards/beneficiary and other databases, computerisation of supply-chain management,  setting  up  of  transparency  portals  and  grievance  redressal mechanisms  and  installation  of  e  PoS  devices  at  Fair  Price  Shops  and issuance of foodgrains through biometric authentication.

Under the scheme, financial assistance is being provided to States/UTs on cost sharing basis. The cost is being shared on 90:10 basis with North East States and on 50:50 basis with other States/UTs.  Under this scheme, as per reports received, as on 01/03/2017, 100 % ration card data has been digitized, Online  allocation  is  being  done  in  29  States/UTs,  supply-chain  management implemented in 20 States/UTs, Transparency Portal set up in all States/UTs, online  Grievance  Redressal  Mechanism  /  toll  free  helpline  number  has  been set up in all States/UTs.

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  State/UT-wise statement indicating number of such complaints received during the last three years and current year is at Annex -II.

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ANNEX - I ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  OF  THE  STARRED

## QUESTION NO. *170 DUE FOR ANSWER ON 14.03.2017 IN THE LOK SABHA

| Total Ration Cards and Fair Price Shops as on 07.03.2017   | Total Ration Cards and Fair Price Shops as on 07.03.2017   | Total Ration Cards and Fair Price Shops as on 07.03.2017   | Total Ration Cards and Fair Price Shops as on 07.03.2017   |
|------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|
| Sl.                                                        | States/Uts                                                 | Total Ration Cards                                         | Total Fair Price Shops                                     |
| 1                                                          | Andhra Pradesh                                             | 94,36,026                                                  | 29,082                                                     |
| 2                                                          | Andaman &Nicobar                                           | 13,370                                                     | 509                                                        |
| 3                                                          | Arunachal Pradesh                                          | 1,76,342                                                   | 1,731                                                      |
| 4                                                          | Assam                                                      | 57,55,686                                                  | 38,794                                                     |
| 5                                                          | Bihar                                                      | 1,54,01,000                                                | 42,117                                                     |
| 6                                                          | Chandigarh                                                 | 59,402                                                     | DBT (Cash)                                                 |
| 7                                                          | Chhattisgarh                                               | 53,68,000                                                  | 12,350                                                     |
| 8                                                          | Dadra &Nagar Haveli                                        | 42,536                                                     | 62                                                         |
| 9                                                          | Daman &Diu                                                 | 24,120                                                     | 51                                                         |
| 10                                                         | Delhi                                                      | 19,45,358                                                  | 2,254                                                      |
| 11                                                         | Goa                                                        | 1,38,361                                                   | 447                                                        |
| 12                                                         | Gujarat                                                    | 72,30,246                                                  | 17,237                                                     |
| 13                                                         | Haryana                                                    | 29,41,138                                                  | 9,631                                                      |
| 14                                                         | Himachal Pradesh                                           | 6,99,584                                                   | 4,877                                                      |
| 15                                                         | Jammu and Kashmir                                          | 15,97,288                                                  | 5,970                                                      |
| 16                                                         | Jharkhand                                                  | 57,56,766                                                  | 23,379                                                     |
| 17                                                         | Karnataka                                                  | 1,05,48,106                                                | 20,497                                                     |
| 18                                                         | Kerala                                                     | 34,33,036                                                  | 14,335                                                     |
| 19                                                         | Lakshadweep                                                | 5,110                                                      | 39                                                         |
| 20                                                         | Madhya Pradesh                                             | 1,15,37,855                                                | 22,409                                                     |
| 21                                                         | Maharashtra                                                | 1,48,28,050                                                | 51,259                                                     |
| 22                                                         | Manipur                                                    | 5,17,093                                                   | 2,052                                                      |
| 23                                                         | Meghalaya                                                  | 4,21,548                                                   | 4,651                                                      |
| 24                                                         | Mizoram                                                    | 1,43,315                                                   | 1,268                                                      |
| 25                                                         | Nagaland                                                   | 2,83,581                                                   | 1,691                                                      |
| 26                                                         | Odisha                                                     | 86,13,870                                                  | 13,844                                                     |
| 27                                                         | Puducherry                                                 | 1,62,456                                                   | DBT (Cash)                                                 |
| 28                                                         | Punjab                                                     | 36,35,425                                                  | 16,657                                                     |
| 29                                                         | Rajasthan                                                  | 1,02,05,458                                                | 25,721                                                     |
| 30                                                         | Sikkim                                                     | 96,911                                                     | 1,421                                                      |
| 31                                                         | Tamil Nadu                                                 | 98,29,111                                                  | 34,774                                                     |
| 32                                                         | Telangana                                                  | 49,27,847                                                  | 17,159                                                     |
| 33                                                         | Tripura                                                    | 5,90,117                                                   | 1,798                                                      |
| 34                                                         | Uttar Pradesh                                              | 3,41,20,299                                                | 79,391                                                     |
| 35                                                         | Uttarakhand                                                | 13,30,404                                                  | 9,212                                                      |
| 36                                                         | West Bengal                                                | 6,01,85,092                                                | 19,733                                                     |
|                                                            | Total                                                      | 23,19,99,907                                               | 5,26,402                                                   |

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ANNEX-II ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (c) to (e) OF THE STARRED

## QUESTION NO. *170 DUE FOR ANSWER ON 14.03.2017 IN THE LOK SABHA

## STATEMENT:      COMPLAINTS  ON  TPDS  RECEIVED  FROM  INDIVIDUALS, ORGANISATIONS & THROUGH MEDIA REPORTS ETC FROM 2013 TO 2016

| S. No.   | State/UT          | 2013   | 2014   | 2015   | 2016   |
|----------|-------------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh    | 3      | 4      | 8      | 5      |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh | -      | 1      | 1      | -      |
| 3        | Assam             | -      | 5      | 34     | 32     |
| 4        | Bihar             | 32     | 55     | 106    | 81     |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh      | 3      | 3      | 6      | 9      |
| 6        | Delhi             | 37     | 78     | 113    | 91     |
| 7        | Goa               | -      | -      | -      | 1      |
| 8        | Gujarat           | 4      | 16     | 8      | 12     |
| 9        | Haryana           | 11     | 26     | 35     | 34     |
| 10       | Himachal Pradesh  | -      | -      | 4      | 5      |
| 11       | J&K               | -      | -      | 5      | 3      |
| 12       | Jharkhand         | 8      | 16     | 32     | 29     |
| 13       | Karnataka         | 6      | 6      | 16     | 22     |
| 14       | Kerala            | 1      | 1      | 16     | 22     |
| 15       | Madhya Pradesh    | 17     | 7      | 17     | 24     |
| 16       | Maharashtra       | 20     | 25     | 48     | 62     |
| 17       | Manipur           | 2      | 1      | 6      | 4      |
| 18       | Meghalaya         | 1      | 2      | 7      | 9      |
| 19       | Mizoram           | -      | -      | -      | -      |
| 20       | Nagaland          | -      | 3      | -      | 2      |
| 21       | Orissa            | 3      | 8      | 22     | 43     |
| 22       | Punjab            | 6      | 5      | 10     | 7      |
| 23       | Rajasthan         | 18     | 31     | 33     | 59     |
| 24       | Sikkim            | 0      | -      | -      | -      |
| 25       | Tamil Nadu        | 9      | 7      | 22     | 33     |
| 26       | Telangana         | -      | -      | 10     | 1      |
| 27       | Tripura           | -      | -      | -      | 1      |
| 28       | Uttarakhand       | 2      | 8      | 24     | 21     |
| 29       | Uttar Pradesh     | 92     | 137    | 197    | 461    |
| 30       | West Bengal       | 7      | 11     | 32     | 29     |
| 31       | A&NIsland         | -      | -      | -      | 1      |
| 32       | Chandigarh        | -      | 3      | 6      | 2      |
| 33       | D&NHaveli         | -      | 1      | -      | 1      |
| 34       | Puducherry        | -      | -      | -      | -      |
| TOTAL    | TOTAL             | 282    | 460    | 818    | 1106   |

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