GPS to track PDS vehicles

Warangal: After a huge outcry, the government seems to have woken up finally to keep a tab on diversion of essential commodities meant for the Public Distribution System (PDS) to the open market. Albeit the government had decided to install the Global Positioning System (GPS) gadget in all the vehicles ferrying foodgrains from godowns to the Fair Price Shops (FPS) to monitor their movement, the plan remained a non-starter for over a year now due to various reasons.

It may be mentioned here that the decision was taken in the wake of several irregularities in the second stage transportation by Fair Price Shop (FPS) dealers. It was also found that the diversion of PDS rice of unused and bogus cardholders is rampant in the State. This was reportedly substantiated by the Vigilance and Enforcement (V&E) department, which conducted an inquiry at the behest of the State government.

In the first stage, the commodities are sent from the Civil Supplies godwons to the Mandal Level Stock (MLS) points. In the second stage, the commodities are sent to the dealers. The authorities found that most of the illegal diversions take place in the second stage only.

With Re 1-a-kg rice is minting money for the illegal traders, it’s alleged that at least 20 per cent of the total PDS stocks are being diverted to rice mills in the State and the neigbouring States. It may be mentioned here that since the PDS rice is of low quality, many card holders prefer not to consume it.

This has become a shot in the arm for the dealers. On the other hand, it was also found that some card holders sell their quota of rice at higher prices to the middlemen or to the dealers itself. After procuring a substantial quantity of rice, they sell it to the rice mills with a margin of Rs 3 to5 per kg. The millers release these stocks in the open market after polishing the rice.

Depending on the quality of the rice, the rice millers sell this rice for Rs 20 to Rs 25 a kg. In all, there are 90.55 lakh below poverty line ration cards in the State. Of which, 5.73 lakh are in the AFSC list, 84.77 lakh are in the FSC list and 4,676 are in the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) list. The quantity of rice required is 1.82 lakh Metric Tonnes a month.

In Warangal district, there are 17 MLS points and 2,114 fair price shops. The district needs 18,893 Metric Tonnes of rice every month from civil supplies corporation to cater to the needs of 9.86 lakh below poverty line ration Speaking to The Hans India, the Warangal district supplies officer PB Sandhya Rani said: “Efforts are on to install GPS gadgets to the vehicles that transport foodgrains from stock points to the dealers. The system is likely to come into force from April.”

It’s learnt that authorities had already called for the tenders for the stage-2 transporters. Once the stage-2 contractors are finalised, the web-based GPS gadgets will be installed in all vehicles. The control room based at the district headquarters would continuously track vehicles to ensure proper and timely supplis to the FPSs.

Any deviation in the movement of the vehicles bypassing the prescribed route map will be noted by the control room personnel. The costs of GPS gadgets will have to be borne by the contractors, the officials said.