Dimapur, April 14 (MExN): ACAUT Nagaland has called for the Nagaland State government to immediately implement the Food Security Act (FSA) in the State. Whereas 32 states and union territories in the Indian Union have implemented the FSA, Nagaland and Manipur are the only states which have not done so, informed a press release from the ACAUT media cell today.
The urgency for FSA in the State, ACAUT Nagaland stated, is highlighted by the fact that “none of the State stockist” for PDS items has been appointed through tendering process (Notice Inviting Tender- NIT), thereby “clearly highlighting the illegality and arbitrariness in the PDS.”
To get around this, ACAUT Nagaland expressed the opinion that the “only fool-proof model” would be to the Direct beneficiary Transfer (DBP) system, as already implemented in Puducherry and Chandigarh, where benefit or subsidy money is directly transferred to the beneficiary account. With this money, “the beneficiary should be able to buy the food items.”
The body alleged that the Public Distribution System (PDS) in the State has become a “looter’s paradise for a few corrupted people.”
The PDS, it stated, is “marked by rampant corruption whereby wholesome diversion of rice, wheat, kerosene, levy sugar, etc., meant for poor beneficiaries is the order of the day, thanks to bureaucrats and politicians cohorting in criminal tandem with stockists, power of attorney holders and nominees,” ACAUT Nagaland accused.
Moreover, “almost all” the stockists, they stated, have “handed the power of attorney to non-local businessmen,” which, they asserted, is the “cog in the wheel” of the corruption system in the PDS.
As per records found by ACAUT Nagaland, in levy sugar, for instance, there was “no tendering process” in the last 15 years except in the year 2014-15. Keeping this in mind, the body maintained that the “misappropriation” of Rs. 402 crores by the Food & Civil Supplies Department, as reflected in CAG report, is “just the tip of the iceberg.”
Condemning this “blatant corruption,” ACAUT Nagaland resolved to continue to pursue this matter in the interest of the “thousands of hand-to-mouth Nagas who depend on subsidized dole-outs.”
While interacting with the ACAUT members, an F&CS official “divulged” that the system to implement FSA is already in place, only requires cabinet nod to start the process, stated the press release. Therefore, “there is no valid reason for the government to delay the implementation of the FSA unless it wants to continue with the old PDS for obvious reasons.”
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