Patna: The Bihar government has decided to take strong action against corruption in the Public Distribution System (PDS) shops. These shops are supposed to give ration like rice, wheat and other grains to poor families at low cost. But in many places, shopkeepers were giving less quantity, giving bad quality grains or not giving ration at all. This caused big problems for people who depend on ration shops for their daily food.
To stop this cheating, the state government started a special inspection campaign. Principal Secretary of Food and Consumer Protection Department, Pankaj Kumar, held a meeting with all Deputy Directors, District Supply Officers and Sub-Divisional Officers through video conference. He told them to take strict action against all the shopkeepers who are found guilty. This includes filing FIRs, cancelling licences and issuing show-cause notices.
So far, inspection has been done at 45,335 ration shops across Bihar. In the reports, complaints were found against 1,309 shops for giving less grain, 1,192 shops for giving poor quality grain, and 4,326 shops for not giving ration at all. Show-cause notices have been sent to 7,955 shopkeepers. The government has already filed 33 FIRs and cancelled the licences of 43 shops.
The campaign will continue for two more days to cover all remaining 8,613 shops in the state. The Principal Secretary has also said that action will be taken against officers who do not act on these inspection reports. The government’s aim is to make sure that poor families get their full share of good quality ration on time and without any cheating.
