Lok Sabha Question No. 290 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-02-05
Subject: Grievance Redressal Under PDS
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: L.R. Shivaramegowda, Tejpratap Singh,Yadav, ANJU BALA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 290

TO BE ANSWERED ON 05 FEBRUARY, 2019

## GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL UNDER PDS

290. SHRI L.R. SHIVARAME GOWDA:

SHRI TEJ PRATAP SINGH YADAV: SHRIMATI ANJU BALA:

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  any  mechanism  for  redressal of grievances of the consumers under the Public Distribution System (PDS) and
- if so, the details thereof;
- (b) 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;
- (c) 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; and
- (d) the  total  number  of  ration  cards  issued  and  Fair  Price  Shops operational in the country at present, State/UT-wise?

## A N S W E R

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

- (a) The National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013, came into force on July 5, 2013. The NFSA has been implemented in all States/UTs and the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) is now governed as per the provisions of the Act. Section 14 of the NFSA provides that every State Government shall put in place an internal grievance redressal mechanism which may include call centres,  help  lines,  designation  of  nodal  officers,  or  such  other mechanism  as  may  be  prescribed.  Section  15  provides  for  a  District Grievance  Redressal  Officer  for  expeditious  and  effective  redressal  of grievances  of  the  aggrieved  persons  in  matters  relating  to  distribution  of entitled foodgrains and to enforce the entitlements under the Act. Section 16 provides that every State Government shall, by notification, constitute a State  Food  Commission  for  the  purpose  of  monitoring  and  review  of implementation  of  the  Act.  The  mechanisms  for  redressal  of  grievances have been put in place by the State Governments/UTs.

(b) & (c): There have been complaints about irregularities in the functioning  of  the  Targeted  Public  Distribution  System  (TPDS)  including issuance  of  cards  to  ineligible  persons,  distribution,  leakages,  diversion, etc.  in  some  States/regions  in  the  country.  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  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 Annexure-I.

(d): The  total  no.  of  ration  cards  issued  and  FPSs  operational  in  the Country at present State/UT-wise Statement is at Annexure-II and Annexure-III respectively.

****

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  PART  (b)  &  (c)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.290  DUE  FOR  ANSWER  ON  05.02.2019 REGARDING 'GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL UNDER PDS'.

COMPLAINTS ON TPDS RECEIVED IN THE DEPARTMENT FROM INDIVIDUALS, ORGANISATIONS & THROUGH MEDIA REPORTS ETC FROM 2016 TO 2019 (upto 30.01.2019)

| S. No.   | State/UT          | 2016   | 2017   | 2018   | 2019   |
|----------|-------------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh    | 5      | 10     | 6      | -      |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh | -      | -      | 1      | -      |
| 3        | Assam             | 32     | 17     | 7      | -      |
| 4        | Bihar             | 81     | 169    | 135    | 10     |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh      | 9      | 9      | 9      |        |
| 6        | Delhi             | 91     | 98     | 76     | 6      |
| 7        | Goa               | 1      | 2      | -      | -      |
| 8        | Gujarat           | 12     | 9      | 8      | 2      |
| 9        | Haryana           | 34     | 47     | 35     | 4      |
| 10       | Himachal Pradesh  | 5      | 6      | 1      | -      |
| 11       | J&K               | 3      | 4      | 5      | -      |
| 12       | Jharkhand         | 29     | 35     | 33     | -      |
| 13       | Karnataka         | 22     | 28     | 15     | 1      |
| 14       | Kerala            | 22     | 13     | 11     |        |
| 15       | Madhya Pradesh    | 24     | 21     | 24     | 2      |
| 16       | Maharashtra       | 62     | 77     | 34     | 4      |
| 17       | Manipur           | 4      | 2      | 2      | -      |
| 18       | Meghalaya         | 9      | -      | -      | -      |
| 19       | Mizoram           | -      | 2      | -      | -      |
| 20       | Nagaland          | 2      | 2      | -      | -      |
| 21       | Orissa            | 43     | 22     | 16     | 2      |
| 22       | Punjab            | 7      | 5      | 22     | 1      |
| 23       | Rajasthan         | 59     | 82     | 38     | 2      |
| 24       | Sikkim            | -      | -      | -      | -      |
| 25       | Tamil Nadu        | 33     | 31     | 27     | -      |
| 26       | Telangana         | 1      | 4      | 3      | -      |
| 27       | Tripura           | 1      | 1      | -      | -      |
| 28       | Uttarakhand       | 21     | 22     | 15     | 1      |
| 29       | Uttar Pradesh     | 461    | 445    | 369    | 40     |
| 30       | West Bengal       | 29     | 49     | 43     | 4      |
| 31       | A&N Island        | 1      | -      | 1      | -      |
| 32       | Chandigarh        | 2      | -      | 2      | -      |
| 33       | D&NHaveli         | 1      | -      | -      | -      |
| 34       | Daman &Diu        | -      | -      | -      | -      |
| 35       | Lakshadweep       | -      | -      | 1      | -      |
| 36       | Puducherry        | -      | 1      | 2      | -      |
| TOTAL    | TOTAL             | 1106   | 1213   | 941    | 79     |

## ANNEXURE-II

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN PART (d) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.290 DUE FOR ANSWER  ON  05.02.2019 REGARDING 'GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL UNDER PDS'.

STATEMENT INDICATING STATE-WISE NUMBER OF CARDS UNDER NATIONAL FOOD SECURITY ACT, 2013 (As on 19.11.2018)

| S. No.   | Name of the State/UT   | Ration Cards (In lakh)   | Ration Cards (In lakh)   | Ration Cards (In lakh)   |
|----------|------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|
| S. No.   | Name of the State/UT   | AAY                      | PHH                      | Total (AAY +PHH)         |
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh         | 9.09                     | 86.09                    | 95.18                    |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh      | 0.37                     | 1.39                     | 1.76                     |
| 3        | Assam                  | 7.03                     | 50.88                    | 57.91                    |
| 4        | Bihar                  | 25.01                    | 129.00                   | 154.01                   |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh           | 7.19                     | 45.65                    | 52.84                    |
| 6        | Delhi                  | 0.76                     | 18.68                    | 19.44                    |
| 7        | Goa                    | 0.13                     | 1.28                     | 1.41                     |
| 8        | Gujarat                | 8.12                     | 58.68                    | 66.80                    |
| 9        | Haryana                | 2.68                     | 24.07                    | 26.75                    |
| 10       | Himachal Pradesh       | 1.82                     | 4.98                     | 6.80                     |
| 11       | Jammu & Kashmir        | 2.36                     | 14.30                    | 16.66                    |
| 12       | Jharkhand              | 9.17                     | 47.98                    | 57.15                    |
| 13       | Karnataka              | 10.97                    | 114.12                   | 125.09                   |
| 14       | Kerala                 | 5.96                     | 29.07                    | 35.03                    |
| 15       | Madhya Pradesh         | 13.98                    | 103.58                   | 117.56                   |
| 16       | Maharashtra            | 25.05                    | 120.74                   | 145.79                   |
| 17       | Manipur                | 0.64                     | 4.94                     | 5.58                     |
| 18       | Meghalaya              | 0.15                     | 3.52                     | 3.67                     |
| 19       | Mizoram                | 0.26                     | 1.21                     | 1.47                     |
| 20       | Nagaland               | 0.48                     | 2.37                     | 2.85                     |
| 21       | Odisha                 | 12.40                    | 74.30                    | 86.70                    |
| 22       | Punjab                 | 1.79                     | 34.12                    | 35.91                    |
| 23       | Rajasthan              | 9.32                     | 98.03                    | 107.35                   |
| 24       | Sikkim                 | 0.17                     | 0.79                     | 0.95                     |
| 25       | Tamil Nadu             | 17.17                    | 81.56                    | 98.73                    |
| 26       | Telangana              | 5.67                     | 44.97                    | 50.64                    |
| 27       | Tripura                | 1.10                     | 4.70                     | 5.80                     |
| 28       | Uttar Pradesh          | 40.94                    | 309.71                   | 350.65                   |
| 29       | Uttarakhand            | 1.84                     | 11.46                    | 13.30                    |
| 30       | West Bengal            | 15.86                    | 546.25                   | 562.11                   |
| 31       | A&N Island             | 0.04                     | 0.11                     | 0.15                     |
| 32       | Chandigarh             | 0.00                     | 0.64                     | 0.64                     |
| 33       | D & N Haveli           | 0.04                     | 0.40                     | 0.44                     |
| 34       | Daman & Diu            | 0.01                     | 0.19                     | 0.20                     |
| 35       | Lakshadweep            | 0.01                     | 0.04                     | 0.05                     |
| 36       | Puducherry             | 0.26                     | 1.51                     | 1.77                     |
|          | TOTAL                  | 237.83                   | 2071.33                  | 2309.17                  |

## ANNEXURE-III

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN PART (d) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.290 DUE FOR ANSWER  ON  05.02.2019 REGARDING 'GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL UNDER PDS'.

Statement indicating State-wise total No. of Fair Price Shops (As on 09.11.2018)

| Sl. No.   | States/UTs        | Total No. of Fair Price Shops   |
|-----------|-------------------|---------------------------------|
| 1         | A&N Island        | 482                             |
| 2         | Andhra Pradesh    | 28,663                          |
| 3         | Arunachal Pradesh | 1,912                           |
| 4         | Assam             | 38,237                          |
| 5         | Bihar             | 41,483                          |
| 6         | Chandigarh        | 0                               |
| 7         | Chhattisgarh      | 12,298                          |
| 8         | D&N Haveli        | 65                              |
| 9         | Daman &Diu        | 51                              |
| 10        | Delhi             | 2,254                           |
| 11        | Goa               | 476                             |
| 12        | Gujarat           | 17,210                          |
| 13        | Haryana           | 9,698                           |
| 14        | Himachal Pradesh  | 4,934                           |
| 15        | Jammu &Kashmir    | 6,493                           |
| 16        | Jharkhand         | 23,846                          |
| 17        | Karnataka         | 20,049                          |
| 18        | Kerala            | 14,429                          |
| 19        | Lakshadweep       | 39                              |
| 20        | Madhya Pradesh    | 24,231                          |
| 21        | Maharashtra       | 52,532                          |
| 22        | Manipur           | 4,219                           |
| 23        | Meghalaya         | 4,736                           |
| 24        | Mizoram           | 1,252                           |
| 25        | Nagaland          | 1,691                           |
| 26        | Odisha            | 12,577                          |
| 27        | Puducherry        | 0                               |
| 28        | Punjab            | 16,933                          |
| 29        | Rajasthan         | 26,642                          |
| 30        | Sikkim            | 1,421                           |
| 31        | Tamil Nadu        | 34,776                          |
| 32        | Telangana         | 17,170                          |
| 33        | Tripura           | 1,806                           |
| 34        | Uttar Pradesh     | 81,137                          |
| 35        | Uttrakhand        | 9,908                           |
| 36        | West Bengal       | 20,806                          |
|           | Total             | 534,456                         |