COIMBATORE: Ration shop employees across the state have expressed concern over the imposition of a penalty up to three times for any decrease in the quantity of stock in ration shops. They claimed the government’s new norm would affect supervisors of ration shops even if they are not involved in malpractice.
G Rajendran, state president of the Tamil Nadu Ration Shop Workers’ Welfare Association, said, “Earlier, ration shop employees faced a penalty if any variation in stock quantity was detected during inspection. Officials levied a fine of Rs 25 for every kilogram of rice or sugar found to be lost. The new norm by the civil supplies department will be to impose a fine of up to Rs 75 per kg.”
“We are ready to follow the penalty for quantity loss during inspections. However, the actual weight of supplies when they reach the ration shop is always 2-3kg less that what is meant to be sent from the civil supplies godown,” he added.
Rajendran said that despite repeated appeals to the civil supplies department to rectify the issue, it remains unaddressed. When contacted, an official from the civil supplies department in Coimbatore said, “The revised norm is being proposed to prevent any malpractice with regards to ration supplies. However, it is yet to be implemented and is being reviewed by the department.”
Dindigul Cooperative Workers Union (CITU) Secretary Sadiq Ali told TNIE, “There are more than 1,200 PDS shops spread throughout the district, and the government’s decision to levy a fine is hurting the genuine salesman.”
“One must remember that the gunny bags which contain the goods are mostly damaged. Yesterday, rice bags were delivered by the civil supply corporation to Dindigul town. A salesman noticed a small hole in one of the rice bags. Upon weighing it, he was shocked to find the bag was 2kg light, 48kg instead of 50kg. He immediately reported the incident and the issue was rectified,” Ali said.
“If the delivery included three or four such bags, and a sudden inspection was carried out by the taluk or district supply officer, the innocent salesman could be fined for it. We suggested individual cloth packets of 5kg for rice and wheat, and 2kg for sugar and pulses be placed inside the gunny bags. These packets could be safe and also be easily distributed to customers. However, no official is considering this.”
A salesman from a ration shop in Tiruchy said, “Goods arrive at ration shops weighing less than what they’re supposed to. Left with no other option, we start distributing them to people. Later, when the officials conduct a surprise raid twice a month, they find the weight of goods has decreased and we are often fined. This stresses us, since we are not responsible for this weight loss.”
Officials in Chennai verbally confirmed that there is now an increased penalty in such cases, although there is no written order for the same.
When queried on the matter, J Radhakrishnan, principal secretary for the civil supplies department told TNIE, “We agree that there are some grievances. This is an issue with how goods are being handled. We have not taken stringent steps against supervisors.”