Plug loopholes in PDS, says Thomas
Concerned over high food inflation, the government has asked the states to timely intervene to check the prices of essential commodities.
Addressing a meeting of food ministers of the north zone states on Monday, Union minister of state for food, consumer affairs and public distribution K.V. Thomas said the states should ensure adequate availability of stocks in the open market by reviewing the stock limits of the commodities from time to time.
It also asked the states to plug loopholes in the public distribution system (PDS) and increase storage capacity before the enactment of the proposed National Food Security Act. The states have been asked to address three core issues — PDS reforms, increasing storage capacity and social accounting of foodgrains sold through PDS, he said.
Keeping in mind the storage need that may arise with the implementation of the proposed bill, the minister said the government is aiming to boost storage capacity by 17 million tonnes in the next 2-3 years. At present, the country can store around 42-43 million tonnes of foodgrain. On the price front, the minister said that the Centre is planning a scheme for effective market intervention with committed funds but the states should use the provisions of the Essential Commodities Act to check malpractices both in the PDS and in the open market, said Mr Thomas.
Urging the states to lift more foodgrains allotted to them under the PDS, he said the Centre has allocated 632.46 lakh tonnes of foodgrains, 13 per cent up this year. This includes additional allocation of 50 lakh tonnes for the BPL families.
He said that sugar prices would remain at reasonable level as the production is expected to increase.
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