THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: You can ask for compensation from the government if you do not get the monthly allocation of foodgrain from the ration shop! It may be news for many people but 25 persons in Kerala have already received the cash compensation for nonreceipt of their PDS entitlement.
The cash compensation named Food Security Allowance is a right provided under the National Food Security Act, 2003. The scheme is limited to card-holders falling under the priority category. As per the civil supplies department’s data for August, the state has a total of 92.78 lakh PDS beneficiaries. Of them, 5.89 lakh families covered by the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and 34.93 lakh families under the Priority Household (PHH) category are eligible for the food security allowance.
Priority card-holders can lodge a complaint with the District Grievance Redressal Officer in case of nonreceipt of food grains. The DGRO would be an additional district magistrate (ADM in the district collectorate) designated by the government. In case the petitioner is not satisfied with the DGRO’s ruling, he/she can file an appeal with the State Food Commission. State Food Commission chairman K V Mohan Kumar said, “Most of the people are unaware of the food security allowance provision. Hence, many missing it. The commission has directed district supply officers to report such cases to DGROs. The DGROs have been asked to process the complaints promptly.”
The allowance will be calculated by multiplying the difference between the 1.25 times the minimum support price of the food grain for that marketing season and the prices specified in Schedule I of the NFSA, 2003 for the quantity not supplied.
On genuine complaints, the damages will be granted before the end of the third week of the next month. Persons who have not visited the ration shop and those who have rejected the allocation citing poor quality will not be eligible.