SRINAGAR: The Jammu & Kashmir RTI Movement has alleged that free ration meant for poor consumers was being sold in black-market in many areas as officials misled consumers that their name was not Adhar linked on the online portal of Food Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (FCS & CA) Department.
In a statement Chairman RTI Movement Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat said that in many areas of Budgam and Srinagar, the storekeepers of FCS & CA are denying free ration and routine ration to several poor consumers mostly under BPL, AAY and PHH categories. These consumers are told that their name has been deleted from online portal due to non linking with Adhar card. In some cases people who are alive were told that they are dead and the same poor consumers are forced to get subsidized and free ration at very exorbitant rates.
“Our team met with one Ali Jahara from Goggee Pathri Budgam. This scheduled tribe consumer has an AAY ration card but he was told by the storekeeper that your name has been deleted in view of his death. The poor consumer kept requesting the storekeeper that he was alive. He was sold ration for Rs 1000 which he was to get for Rs 150 only. We recorded his video statement as well ” said Dr Raja Muzaffar
“Our team led by our District Coordinator Budgam namely Mushtaq Ahmad Lone cross checked the details of many consumers on the online portal. Ali Jahara and his wife’s names are aadhar linked as well. There were more than a dozen similar cases in the same village plus in some areas. Even in Dara Harwan of Srinagar we exposed similar fraud. We brought the matter into notice of Commissioner Secretary FCS & CA who assured to take action against the erring officials ” Dr Raja Muzaffar added
RTI Movement has appealed to the Government to hand over the corruption cases in public distribution system (PDS) to Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) so that these corrupt employees are taken to task and the whole nexus is exposed and dismantled.
