reejo frnd proj

8/8/2019 reejo frnd proj

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Introduction

1.1 Introduction1.2 Evolution of PDS1.3 Revamped Public Distribution System (RPDS)

1.4 Targeted PDS1.5 Identification of BPL families under TPDS1.6 Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY)1.7 Identification of Antyodaya families and allocation of food grains1.8 Scale of Issue of food-grains under TPDS1.9 Central Issue Price (CIP)1.10 Achievements of TPDS1.11 Measures taken to strengthen TPDS1.12 Review of literature1.13 Objectives of the study1.14 Hypothesis to be tested1.15 Tools for data collection1.16 Statement of the problem1.17 Methodology and Data Sources1.18 Limitations of the study

I. Introduction

1.1 Introduction

The Public Distribution System evolved as a system of management of scarcity and for distribution of food grains at affordable prices. PDS meansdistribution of essential commodities to a large number of people through a network of fair price shops on a recurring basis. Over the years, PDS has become an important

part of governments policy for management of food economy in the country. PDS issupplemental in nature and is not intended to make available the entire requirement of any of the commodities distributed under it to a house hold or a section of the society.

PDS is operated under the joint responsibility of the central and state

governments. The central government through FCI has assumed the responsibility for procurement, storage, transportation and bulk allocation of food grains to the stategovernments. The operational responsibility including allocation within the state,identification of families below the poverty line, issue of ration cards and supervisionof the functioning of FDS rest with the state governments. Under the PDS, presentlythe commodities namely wheat, rice, sugar and kerosene are being allocated to thestates/UTs for distribution. Some states/UTs also distribute additional items of massconsumption through PDS outlets run as cloth, exercise books, pulses, salt and tea etc.


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1.2 Evolution of Public Distribution System

Public Distribution of essential commodities had been in existence in Indiaduring the inter-war period. PDS with its focus on distribution of food grains in urbanscarcity areas had from the critical food shortages in 1960. PDS had

substantially contributed to the containment of rise in food grain prices and ensuredaccess of food to urban consumers. As the rational agriculture production had grownin the aftermath of Green Revolution, the outreach of PDS was extended to tribal

blocks and areas of high incidence of poverty in the 1970s and 1980s.

PDS till 1992 was a general entitlement scheme for all consumers without anyspecific target. Ravamped Public Distribution System (RPDS) was launched in June1992 in 1775 blocks throughout the country. The Targeted Public Distribution System(TPDS) was introduced with effect from June 1997.

1.3 Revamped Public Distribution System (RPDS)

The Revamped PDS was launched in June 1992 with a view to strengthen andstreamline the PDS as well as to improve its reach in the far-flung, hilly remote andinaccessible areas where a substantial section of the poor live. It covered 1775 blockswherein area specific program such as the Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP),Integrated Tribal Development Projects (ITDP), Desert Development Programme(DDP) and certain Designated Hill Areas (DHA) identified in consultation with StateGovernments for special focus with respect to improvement of the PDS infrastructure.Food grains for distribution in RPDS areas were issued to in the States at 50 paise

below the Central Issue Price. The scale of issue was up to 20kg per card.

The RPDS included area approach for ensuring effective reach of the PDScommodities, their delivery by State Governments at the doorstep of FPSs in theidentified areas, additional ration cards to the left out families, infrastructurerequirements like additional Fair Price Shops, storage capacity, etc and additionalcommodities such as tea, salt, pulses, soap etc for distribution through PDS outlets.

1.4 TARGETED PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM (TPDS)

In June 1997, the Government of India launched the Targeted PublicAdministration (TPDS) with focus on the poor. Under the TPDS, States are required

to formulate and implement foolproof arrangements for identification of the poor for delivery of food grains and for its distribution in a transparent and accountablemanner at the FPS level.

The scheme, when introduced, was intended to benefit about 6 crore poor families for whom a quantity of about 72 lakh tones of food grains was earmarkedannually. The identification of the poor under the scheme is done by the States as per State-wise poverty estimates of the Planning. Commission for 1993-94 based on themethodology of the Expert Group on estimation of proportion and number of poorchaired by Late Prof Lakdawala. The allocation of food grains to the States/UTs wasmade on the basis of average consumption in the past i.e. average annual off-take of

food grains under the PDS during the past ten years at the time of introduction of TPDS.


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The quantum of food grains in excess of the requirement of BPL families was provided to the State as transitory allocation for which a quantum of 103 lakh tonesof food grains was earmarked annually. Over and above the TPDS allocation,additional allocation to States was also given. The transitory allocation was intendedfor continuation of benefit of subsidized food grains to the population. Above the

Poverty Line (APL) as any sudden withdrawal of benefits existing under PDS formthem was not considered desirable. The transitory allocation was issued at prices,which were subsidized but were higher than the prices for the BPL quota of foodgrains.

Keeping in view the consensus on increasing the allocation of food grains toBPL families, and to better target the food subsidy, Government of India increased theallocation to BPL families from 10kg to 20kg of food grains per family per month at50% of the economic cost and allocation to APL families at economic cost w.e.f.1.4.2000. The allocation of APL families was retained at the same level as at the timeof introduction of TPDS but the Central Issue Prices (CIP) for APL were fixed at100% of economic cost from that date so that the entire consumer subsidy could bedirected to the benefit of the BPL population. However, the CIPs fixed in July andDecember, 2000 for BPL & AAY respectively and in July, 2002 for APL, have not

been revised since then even though procurement costs have gone up considerably.

The number of BPL families has been increased w.e.f. 1.12.2000 by shiftingthe base to the population projections of the Registrar General as on 1.3.2000 insteadof the earlier population projections of 1995. With this increase the total number of BPL families is 652.03 lakh as against 596.23 lakh families originally estimated whenTPDS was introduced in June 1997.

The end retail price is fixed by the State/UTs after taking into account marginsfor wholesalers/retailers, transportation charges, levies, local taxes etc. Under theTPDS, the states were requested to issue food-grains at a difference of not more than50 paise per kg over and above the CIP for BPL families. Flexibility to States/UTs,has been given in the matter of fixing the retail issue prices by removing therestriction of 50 paise per kg over and above the CIP for distribution of food grainsunder TPDS except with respect to Antyodaya Anna Yojana where the end retail priceis to be retained at Rs.2/a kg for wheat and Rs3/a kg for rice.

1.5 IDENTIFICATION OF BPL FAMILIES UNDER TPDS

To work out the population below the poverty line under the TPDS, there wasa general consensus at the Food Ministers conference held in August 1996, for adopting the methodology used by the expert groups set up by the PlanningCommission under the Chairmanship of Late Prof. Lakadawala. The BPL householdswere determined on the basis of population projections of the Registrar General of India for 1995 and the State wise poverty estimates of the Planning Commission for 1993-94. The total number of BPL households so determined was 596.23 lakh.Guidelines for implementing the TPDS were issued in which the State Governmentshad been advised to identify the BPL families by involving the Gram Panchayats and

Nagar Palikas. While doing so the thrust should be to include the really poor and

vulnerable sections of the society such as landless agricultural labourers, marginalfarmers, rural artisans/craftsmen such as potters, tappers, weavers, black-smith,


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carpenters etc. in the rural areas and slum dwellers and persons earning their livelihood on daily basis in the informal sector like potters, rickshaw-pullers, cart-

pullers, fruit and flower sellers on the pavement etc. in urban areas. The GramPanchayats and Gram-Sabhas should also be involved in the identification of eligiblefamilies.

1.6 ANTYODAYA ANNA YOJANA (AAY)

AAY is a step in the direction of making TPDS aim at reducing hunger amongthe poorest segments of the BPL population. A National Sample Survey Exercise

points towards the fact that about 5% of the total population in the country sleepswithout two square meals a day. This section of the population can be called ashungry. In order to make TPDS more focused and targeted towards this category of

population, the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) was launched in December, 2000for one crore poorest of the poor families.

AAY contemplates identification of one crore poorest of the poor familiesfrom amongst the number of BPL families covered under TPDS within the States and

providing them food grains at a highly subsidized rate of Rs.2/per kg for wheat andRs.3/per kg for rice. The States/UTs are required to bear the distribution cost,including margin to dealers and retailers as well as the transportation cost. Thus theentire food subsidy is being passed on to the consumers under the scheme.

The scale of issue that was initially 25kg per family per month has beenincreased to 35 kg per family per month with effect from 1 st April 2002.

FIRST EXPANSION OF AAY

The AAY scheme has been expanded in 2003-2004 by adding another 50 lakhBPL households headed by widows or terminally ill persons or disabled persons or

persons aged 60 years or more with no assured means of subsistence or societalsupport. With this increase, 1.5 crore (i.e 23% of BPL) families have been coveredunder the AAY.

SECOND EXPANSION OF AAY

As announced in the Union Budget 2004-05, the AAY has been further

expanded by another 50 lakh BPL families by including, inter alia, all households atthe risk of hunger. Orders to this effect have been issued on 3 rd August 2004. In order to identify these households, the guidelines stipulate the following criteria:

Landless agriculture labourers, marginal farmers, rural artisans/craftsmen,such as potters, tanners, weavers, blacksmiths, carpenters, slum dwellers and personsearning their livelihood, on daily basis in the informal sector like porters, coolies,rickshaw pullers, hand cart pullers, fruit and flower sellers, snake charmers, rag

pickers, cobblers, destitute and other similar categories irrespective of rural or urbanareas.


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Households headed by widows or terminally ill persons or disabled persons or persons aged 60 years or more with no assured means of subsistence or societalsupport.

Widows or terminally ill persons or disabled persons or persons aged 60 years

or more or single women or single men with no family or societal support or assuredmeans of subsistence.

All primitive tribal households.

With this increase, the number of AAY families has been increased to 2 crore (i.e.30.66% of BPL families).

THIRD EXPANSION OF AAY

As announced in the Union Budget 2005-06, the AAY has further beenexpanded to cover another 50 lakh BPL households thus increasing its overage to 2.5crore households. (i.e. 38% of BPL). As on 30.04.2009, 242.75 lakh AAY familieshave been covered by the States/UTs under this scheme.

1.7 IDENTIFICATION OF ANTYODAYA FAMILIES AND ALLOCATION OFFOOD GRAINS

The identification of the Antyodaya families and issuing of distinctive RationCards to these families is the responsibility of the concerned State Governments.Detailed guidelines were issued to the States/UTs for identification of the Antyodayafamilies under the AAY and additional Antyodaya families under the expanded AAY.Allocation of food grains under the scheme is being released to the States/UTs on the

basis of issue of distinctive AAY Ration Cards to the identified Antyodaya families.The present monthly allocation of food grains under AAY is around 8.50 lakh tons

per month.

1.8 SCALE OF ISSUE OF FOOD-GRAINS UNDER TPDS

Since 1997, the scale of issue of the BPL families has been graduallyincreased from 10kg. to 35kg. per family per month. The scale of issue to BPLfamilies was increased from 10kg. to 20kg. per family per month with effect from

1.4.2000. The allocation of food grains for the BPL families was further increasedfrom 20kg to 25kg. per family per month with effect from July, 2001. Initially, theAntyodaya families were provided 25kg. of food grains per family per month at thetime of launching of the scheme in December, 2000. The scale of issue of foodgrainsunder APL, BPL and AAY has been revised to 35kg per family per month with effectfrom 1.4.2002 with a view to enhancing the food security at the household level.


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1.9 CENTRAL ISSUE PRICE (CIP)

The present Central Issue Price (CIP) of food grains being supplied under TPDS is as under:-

(Figure in Rs.per kg)

Commodity APL BPL AAY

Rice 8.30 5.65 3.00Wheat 6.10 4.15 2.00

1.10 ACHIEVEMENTS OF TPDS

After June 1997, PDS has now become pro-poor.

The urban bias has been completely eliminated as a larger proportion of BPLfamilies are living in rural areas.

Though PDS is supplemental in nature, but now the enhanced allocation of food grains fulfils around 50% of the monthly cereal requirement of an average BPLhousehold.

In accordance with the commitment of the Government to create a hunger freeIndia and to reform the PDS so as to serve the poorest of the poor, the AAY schemewas launched in December 2000. The CIP for AAY category was kept lowest i.e.Rs2/-kg for wheat and Rs.3/- kg for rice. The number of AAY households have beenincreased to 2.5 crores.

The CIP of food grains for BPL families has not been revised since25.07.2000 and that for AAY since Dec.2000.

1.11 MEASURES TAKEN TO STRENGTHEN TPDS

Citizens Character

A revised Citizens Charter has been issued in July, 2007 for adoption andimplementation by the State/UT Governments for facilitating its use by citizens as per

provisions of Right to Information Act, 2005, in relation to functioning of the TPDS.

PDS (Control) Order, 2001

In order to maintain supplies and securing availability and distribution of essential commodities, Public Distribution System (Control) Order, 2001 has beennotified on August31, 2001. The order mainly contains provisions with regard to thefollowing issues:-

(i) Identification of families below the poverty line;(ii) Ration cards;(iii) Scale and issue price;

(iv) Distribution of food grains;(v) Licensing;


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(vi) Monitoring.

The order requires all State Governments/UTs to ensure that the BPL andAntyodaya families identified are really the poorest of the poor. It also requires theState Governments/UTs to get the lists of BPL and Antyodaya families reviewed

every year for the purpose of deletion of ineligible families and inclusion of eligiblefamilies. It further devolves on the State Governments/UTs to conduct periodicalchecking of ration cards to weed out ineligible and bogus ration cards. The StateGovernments/UTs are also to ensure issue of Utilisation Certificates confirming thatthe food grains have been lifted and distributed to the intended beneficiaries under theTPDS. An offence committed in violation of the provisions of this order shall invokecriminal liability under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.

Area Officers Scheme

The Area Officers Scheme was launched on 21 st February, 2000 in theDepartment of Food and Public Distribution with the objective to provide amechanism to coordinate with the State Governments and UT Administrations for regular and effective review and monitoring of the Targetted Public DistributionSystem in the States/UTs. Officers of the rank of Deputy Secretary, Director andequivalent are nominated as Area Officers for different States/UTs from time to time.The broad features of the Scheme are as under:-

i. The Area Officer is required to visit two districts of their allotted territories once ina quarter and review the functioning of TPDS as per the instructions/guidelines and asa set of questionnaire;ii. They are also required to submit their visit report within 10 days, clearly bringingout important issues, findings along with recommendations on actionable points;iii. The report of the Area Officers are sent to the Food Secretaries of the concernedStates/UTs for taking remedial action towards smooth functioning of TPDS.

Meetings/Conferences

A meeting of all State and UT Food Secretaries was held under theChairmanship of Union Food Secretary at Hyderabad on 8.2.2008 to discuss themeasures for reforming PDS. The minutes of said meeting were sent to all concernedfor taking necessary action thereon.

State wise estimated number of AAY families and the families identified and rationcards issued under AAY by the State/UTs.


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1.12 Review of literature

A number of studies have been done on PDS in India. Important studies are presented here.

(i) In 1974 P.S.George attempted to analyze public distribution of food grains andtheir income distribution effects in Kerala. He tried to estimate the possible impact of rationing on incomes of the consumers using the relationship.

(ii) M.H. Suryanarayana undertook a study on PDS in India with reference toAndhra Pradesh during 1985.


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(iii) A detailed study was published on Food Security and Targeted PDS in UP. Thestudy was undertaken by Ravi Srivastava and was published in 2000.

(iv) The Tata Economic Consultancy Service conducted a study in 2000 to know howmuch PDS supplies were diverted from the system.

1.13 Objectives of the Study

1) To study the socio-economic conditions of rural population brought under PDS.2) To study the problems relating to the implementation of the PDS.3) To study the benefits derived out of PDS.4) To offer suggestions to improve the working of PDS.

1.14 Hypothesis to be tested

1) People below poverty line do not have income to purchase PDS goods.2) Very old stocks are allowed for PDS.3) Monitoring of the scheme is ineffective.4) Measures and weights are not accurate in PDS article.5) PDS has created overall benefits to poor people.

1.15 Tools for data collection

An interview schedule covering all aspects of PDS was administered amongthe respondents to elict the needed information.

1.16 Statement of the Problem

With a network of more than 4, 00,000 FPS the PDS in India are perhaps thelargest distribution machinery of its type in the world. PDS is said to distribute eachyear commodities worth Rs 15,000 crore to about 16 crore families. Current study isundertaken to answer some of the questions such as:-

(i) Its urban and neglect of rural areas.(ii) Its failure to serve the population below poverty line(iii) Lack of transparent and accountable arrangement for delivery.(iv) The effectiveness of delivery machinery (coordination, accountability and

supervision)(v) Frequent stock out situations.(vi) Malpractices such as under weighing of commodities.(vii) Exclusion of APL population from the PDS.

To find a solution to the above problem of the PDS present study is devoted.

1.17 Methodology and Data Sources

Present study was studied using primary data. Survey method was followedfor this study. The primary data required for the study was collected from a sample of

100 respondents selected through random sampling method from the urban and rural


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area of Kollam District. The data collected are analysed by using proper statisticaltools like percentages.

For the purpose of the study 50 respondents from the category of BelowPoverty Line (BPL) and 50 respondents from the category of Above Poverty Line

(APL) was selected. The respondents were cardholders of BPL and APL schemes.The respondents dealing with their respective fair price shops (FPS) is studied.

The sampling frame is as follows: No of respondents selected from Below Poverty Line (BPL)Category: 50

No of respondents selected from Above Poverty Line (APL)Category: 50

The area selected for the study was Thrikkadavoor Panchayath whichrepresented rural population and a ward from Kollam Corporation which representedurban population. The ward selected was Thevally. Sampling was done in such a waythat the respondents from both BPL and APL are randomly selected from thePanchayat as well as ward.

1.18 Limitations of the Study

Some of the limitations of the study are:-

1) Due to limitation of time, it was not possible to cover a wider area.2) All limitations of primary data may possibly affect the results of the study.


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PDS in Kerala

It is well known that Kerala had one of the best run and most effective PDSnetworks in India. PDS was launched in the State with effect from 01-07-1965 with

the implementation of Kerala Rationing Order, 1966. Kerala was rated among the best performers in raising rural household consumption and reducing rural poverty, partly because of its effective system of public administration.

1) The Targeted Public Distribution System in Kerala

The TPDS was implemented in the state from 1/06/1997 onwards. Under thescheme the households are classified as Above Poverty Line (APL) and BelowPoverty Line (BPL). Distinctive ration cards are issued to them and food grains aredistributed at the prices fixed by the Government out of the 66,11,298 card holders inthe state, 45,68,811 families are under APL and 15,70,775 families are under BPLcategory. Food grains are allotted by the Government of India for distribution to thecard holder at the rate of 35kg per month irrespective of the category.

The TPDS has affected Keralas PDS in several ways:

First as 25 per cent of Keralas population has been termed BPL by the PlanningCommission, the guaranteed and subsidized allocation of grain for BPL householdsunder the TPDS accounts for only 10 per cent of the previous PDS (lifting) supply.The Kerala government has identified 42 per cent of households as BPL householdsand is providing the BPL subsidy to these households from the state budget. Giventhat Kerala is a food deficit state, in the pre-TPDS period, the state own productionaccounted for 20 per cent of grain requirements, the PDS accounted for 32 per centand the rest came from private trade.(This is according to official data on PDS and notthe NSS consumption data). If the allocation to the APL is stopped, then the PDSallocation to Kerala, it is estimated, will account for 3.8 per cent of the grainrequirements of the state, as will account for 3.8 per cent of the grain requirements of the state, as opposed to the 32% the PDS was providing earlier. Thus, TPDS haschanged the share of the PDS in the total grain requirements of Kerala. This has hadimplications on domestic availability of rice and on prices.

Secondly, the Kerala government has continued to provide additional grain to BPL

households as well as maintained its entitlements for APL households.

Thirdly, because of various schemes and the different prices under the TPDS schemecertain distortions are created consumers have information problems when PDS

prices are frequently changed, rolled-back, and differentiated according to the schemeand card, there is confusion among consumers as to the appropriate prices to be paid.It would be better if the TPDS scheme had remained unchanged for a few years atleast, after the switch, as the constant change in prices led to information problemsamong consumers and opened up scope for malpractice by people who made use of the confusion regarding the scheme to charge higher prices.

Finally, there is evidence that ration shops are becoming unviable and are closingdown. With the higher APL prices, ration shops have lost their advantage in relation


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to private stores for the majority of the population and it is reported that people have begun to shift to private traders. With a small number of ration cards to serve, andupper bounds on margins that can be charged to BPL consumers, the net profits of fair

price shop owners/dealers are lower under the TPDS than before. Since there aresome economies in costs, such as in the case of transport, the distribution of smaller

quantities is likely to make many shops unviable. As compared to a monthly sale of 7,500 kg of rice and 2,000kg of wheat in early 2000, fair price shops are now selling1,400 kg of rice and 200kg of wheat a month. Since sales from fair price shops havedeclined, many are estimated to be making losses. According to the Government of Kerala, the earnings per fair price shop fell from Rs. 3, 711 before March 2000 toRs.1, 493 in late 2001. After deducting all expenses, the net income of a fair priceshop dealer is now negative. This explains the fact that 250 to 350 retail stores have

become non-functioning.

In Kerala it has been observed that especially among the coastal fishing regions, people would pledge their ration cards to the ARDs in return for money. What isapparent is that Kerala has taken a complete u-turn in utilization of the PDS- from ascenario where the majority of the population was dependent on the PDS system to astate where 70% are excluded form the system completely.

Though the TPDS has not achieved anything remarkable in the State, it cannot be saidthat continuing under the universal PDS would have been better for Kerala. What thetargeted system aims to do is basically provide more subsidies for the poor who needit the most, and to reduce subsidies to APLfamilies who are thought to be able toafford to pay more. The government could then narrow down the allocation of grainsand reduce its food subsidy bill. However in practice the TPDS has its own share of

problems such as the unclaimed stock for APL families being sold in the black marketand ration shops claiming that they are out of stock, denying food to those who need itmost, because it is more profitable for these owners to sell their stock to the privatemarkets on the side. Today there is additional cause for concern however as inflationand spiraling prices have led to a few APL families turning back to the PDS. Thesefamilies were more or less excluded from the PDS after the price hike in 2000, whichled to the prices in the free market. Programmes to restructure the system should beseriously considered because and enormous amount of public money is being spentwithout really having much of an impact to improve food security. The FinanceMinister P.Chidambaram came on record on 20 th December, 2007 saying that the costof transferring a rupee of benefit to the poor through the PDS is Rs.3.65. According to

most development indicators, Kerala is doing extremely well as compared to mostIndian states, and because of education, social awareness, womens empowermentand political awareness, people in Kerala have a much better standard of living than

people in the poorest states in the north of the country, and for the most part are notignorant of the schemes initiated by the State on their behalf. People have chosen toabandon the PDS system altogether, which makes it quite obvious that a completerestructuring of the food subsidy programme is vital in order to save crores of rupeesgoing waste as futile public expenditure and to help people in a more effective,efficient manner.


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2) Antyodaya Anna Yojana

Under this scheme 35kgs of food grains is distributed to the poorest of the poor families at the rate of Rs.3/kg. The scheme is implemented in the State from25-2-2001 onwards. Since then the scheme was expanded twice w.e.f 01/2004 and

01/2005. Now the beneficiaries under the scheme are 471800. Central allotment of rice for AAY scheme is 16322 MTS/month.

3) Annapurna Scheme

Under this scheme, 10kgs of food grains is distributed per month free of costto destitute above the age of 65 years with no or meager subsistence. The Govt of India fixed the target at 44980, being 20% of the number of persons who are eligiblefor National old age pension but not getting the pension for some reasons. Thescheme is implemented in the State with effect from 14-2-2001.

4) Price and Rate of Distribution of Rice and Wheat

Category of CardHolder

Quantity of Distribution

Price Rs/kgRice Wheat

APL 35kg Rice onWheat

8.90 6.70

BPL 75% of 25kg/card/month

2.00 3.00

AAY 35kg/card/month 2.00 N.A

ANP 10kg/card/month Free of cost N.A

5) Ration Cards

Ration Card is the basic document for the purchase of rationed articles under the Targeted Public Distribution System. The Taluk Supply Officer/Assistant Taluk Supply Officer is the officer empowered to issue Ration Cards and to make availablethe food grains for distribution through FPS (Fair Price Shops). At present there are4942543 APL cardholders and 1490509 BPL cardholders in Kerala.

6) Fair Price Shops

There are 14153 fair price shops, popularly known as ration shops and termedas ARDs (Authorized Retail Dealers) in official parlor. FPS works throughout themonth, except on Sundays and 15 specified public holidays in a year.

The working hours of fair price shops are shown below:

8am to 12 noon4pm to 8pm


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7) Distribution of Kerosene

Distribution of Kerosene is governed by the Kerala Kerosene Control Order,1968 promulgated by the State governed under the Essential Commodities Act. As

per this order, sufficient number of kerosene wholesale dealers (KWDs) are appointed

by the District Collector concerned and these KWDs lift the stock of kerosene allottedto them every month by the departmental officers from respective companies IOC,BPC, IBP & HPC make it available for distribution to the ARDs who in turn lift thestock allotted to them and distributor to the card holders.

Department Detail with Organizational Structure

The civil supplies department discharges the important responsibilities of Public Distribution, enforcement of markets discipline and promotion of consumer awareness and promotion of their interest.

PDS is the country as a whole and particularly in the state of Kerala servestwo main objectives. The first is to ensure availability of food grains to everyone. Thesecond objective is to ensure that it is at price affordable for even the poorest in thestate. Since most of food grains in the state come from outside the state, the PDS istotally dependent on the food grains supplied by the government of India throughFCI.

The department of civil supplies functions under the department of food, civilsupplies and consumer affairs of the government of Kerala. The commissioner of civilsupplies is the principal Head of the department. The secretary to government, foodcivil supplies, and consumer affairs Dpt holds the post of commissioner of civilsupplies concurrently. He exercises the statutory functions entrusted with him under the Kerala Rationing Order 1966, PDS (control) order, 2001 and other control ordersissued by the government of Kerala under the essential commodities Act.

The director of civil supplies is the functional head of department. He isassisted by the Controller of Rationing, Chief Accounts Officer, Finance Officer, LawOfficer, Vigilance Officer and three Assistant Secretaries. For administrativeconvenience the state is divided into two regions and a Deputy Controller of rationingis put in charge of each region. In each revenue district there is a District SupplyOfficer functioning under general supervision and control of the District Collector.

There are 63 taluks in the state and the supervision and control of the PDS are carriedout in the Taluk by the Taluk supply officers. In addition there are two city RationingOfficers each in the municipal corporations of Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam andKozhikode. The field functionaries of the department are Rationing Inspectorsworking under the Taluk supply officers/City Rationing Officers.

The primary function of the Civil Supplies Department is to run the PDSefficiently and to ensure distribution of rationed articles to the people at the pricefixed by the government. The department is also entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring availability of essential commodities in the market at reasonable price and

prevention of hoarding, black-marketing and artificial price like.


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Organizational Structure

Commissioner of Civil Supplies

StatisticalOfficer

Assistant Secretary Deputy Controller of RationingKozhikode

(Northern Region)

VigilanceOfficer

Taluk Supply Officers/ City Rationing Officers

Directorate of Civil Supplies

Controller of

Rationing

LawOfficer

Chief AccountsOfficer

AssistantSecretary

AssistantSecretary

District Supply Officers

Deputy Controller of Rationing Kollam(Southern Region)


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PDS IN KOLLAM DISTRICT

The following Taluk Supply Offices are functioning under the jurisdiction of district supply office, Kollam.

1. Taluk Supply Office, Kollam2. Taluk Supply Office, Kottarakara3. Taluk Supply Office, Pathanapuram4. Taluk Supply Office, Karunagapally5. Taluk Supply Office, Kunnathur

Details of Ration Cards and Ration Population in the District

Taluk Total No of Cards

No of Adults No of NonAdults

TotalPopulation

Kollam 215526 848858 166480 1015338Kottarakara 136575 526504 95358 621862Pathanapuram 106563 391741 70614 462355Karunagapally 98757 364427 68257 432684Kunnathur 46582 32151 32151 205380Total 604003 2304759 432860 2737619

Details of authorized wholesale Distributors/Kerosene Wholesale Dealers/ AuthorizedRation Dealers under PDS.

Taluk AWDS KWDS ARDSKollam 03 09 419Kottarakara 10 05 352Pathanapuram 09 05 267Karunagapally 10 05 253Kunnathur 03 02 130Total 35 20 1421

Scheme wise details of PDS in Kollam

1. BPL (Below Poverty Line):-

There are 157987 BPL cards in circulation in the district at present. Each cardholders get 25kg of food grain @ Rs.2 per kg. (75% of rice and 25% of wheat). TheBPL card holders are eligible for sugar @ 400 per head/month.

2. APL (Above Poverty Line):-

APL scheme included 392840 families through out the district. All other cardholders except BPL, AAY are included in this scheme. The card holders get 35kg


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A. Public Distribution System Effectiveness & Efficiency

PDS is involved as an important poverty alleviation programme in India. It is perhaps the largest distribution network in the world. However PDS is criticized for its inefficiency in achieving its objectives. Some of the criticisms with regard to PDSare:-

1) Poor quality of goods supplied2) Underweight3) Leakage of PDS articles to the open market4) Non availability of commodities5) Whether the commodities are given to the right persons etc.

Hence it becomes necessary to assess the efficiency of PDS from users perspective. The effectiveness and efficiency of PDS was measured based on theresponses given by the respondents of this study. The respondents were categorizedfrom Below Poverty Line and Above Poverty Line (APL)

1) Classification of respondents on the bias of sex

Table 1

Classification according to sex

Sl. No Sex BPL % of responsiveness

APL Percentageof

respondents1 Male 20 40 22 442 Females 30 60 28 56

Total 50 100 50 100

Source: - Primary Data

This classification was made to identify the relative role of males and femalesin purchasing the commodities from the FPS. The recognized fact is that the femalemembers largely influence the purchasing behavior of the family. This is also true inthe case of FPS.

The study showed that the percentage of female respondents in both categories(BPL-60 APL-56) were more. The main opinion of female respondents under BPLcategory was that the daily wages were the source for their purchase. If there is nowork, no wage and no food. This shows that the people below poverty line do nothave income to purchase PDS goods.


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2. Classification of respondents on the basis of age

Table 2

Classification according to age

Sl. No Age Group BPL % of respondents

APL % of respondents

1 20-35 12 24 12 242 35-50 32 64 26 523 50-65 6 12 12 24

Total 50 100 50 100


In the study based on age it showed that the majority of the respondents in both the categories (BPL 64% & APL -52%) were in the age group 35-50 whichshowed that the middle age group has been maintaining the relationship with FPS.

3. Classification on the basis of occupation

Table 3

Classification on the basis of occupation

Occupation BPL Percentage APL PercentageSalariedEmployees

0 0 16 32

Self Employed 2 4 18 36Labourers 26 52 10 20Agriculturist 20 40 4 8Unemployed 2 4 2 4Total 50 100 50 100


On the basis of occupation, respondents were classified into salariedemployees, self- employed people, labourers, agriculturist and unemployed.Occupation decided the income level of the individual and ultimately his purchasing

behaviour.

It was found that in the APL category the percentage of salaried employees(32%) and self employed (36%) was more, obviously it was very low in BPL category


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and clearly labourers (52%) and agriculturist (40%) were high in BPL categorycompared to APL. The low prices of commodities supplied by the FPSs were themain reason for their purchase from it.4. Respondents opinion on the availability of commodities in time

Table 4

Respondents opinion about the availability of commodities in time

Sl. No Response BPL Percentage APL Percentage1 Available 18 36 22 442 Not

Available32 64 28 56

Total 50 100 50 100


In this study it was found that majority of respondents from both the category(BPL 64% and APL 56%) opined that the commodities were not available in timein FPS.

5. Opinion about the satisfaction of respondents over the quantity and quality of commodities supplied

Sl. No Response BPL Percentage APL Percentage

1 Satisfied 20 40 21 422 Notsatisfied

30 60 29 58

Total 50 100 50 100


60 % of the respondents from the BPL category and 58% of the respondentsfrom the APL category were not satisfied over the commodities supplied.Dissatisfaction was high among the respondents in the rural area (Perinad Panchayat)compared to the urban area ( ). It was widely opined by the respondents that the goodssupplied were inferior in quality and under weighment.

6. Reasons for not purchasing commodities during certain times

There are many reasons for not purchasing the commodities by the cardholders at certain times such as

(i) Lack of good quality(ii) Lack of information on the availability of goods(iii) Irregular Supply(iv) Under Weighment(v) Lack of customer relations


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Table 6

Reasons for not purchasing commodities during certain

Sl. NO Reasons BPL Percentage APL Percentage1 Lack of

goodquality

11 22 26 52

2 Lack of informationon theavailability

26 52 12 24

3 Irregular Supply

3 6 8 16

4 Under Weighment

8 16 2 4

5 Lack of customer relations

2 4 2 4

Total 50 100 50 100


Among the reasons mentioned lack of information on the availability of goodswas the major reason quoted by the BPL category (52%) of respondents. Majority of the respondents from the APL category (52%) quoted lack of quality in PDS articlewas their major reason for not purchasing commodities from FPS. In this analysisvery old stocks are allowed for PDS was recognized.

B. Problems faced by the sample respondents in PDS

Some of the main problems faced by both the categories of cardholders thatwas found out under this study were

1) Underweighing of commodities2) Leakages of commodities to open market3) Frequent stock-out situations4) Infrequent opening of the Fair Price Shops &5) Inferior quality of food grains supplied throughout FPS.

Underweighing of commodities were quoted a major problem by the majorityof the BPL respondents while majority of respondents in the APL category quotedleakages of commodities to open markets as the major problem.


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