The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India on the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi for the year that ended in March 2011, revealed that the “food distribution chain of Delhi is rotting”.
The CAG has come down heavily on the food and civil supplies department of the Delhi government for gross inefficiency in the department’s functioning.
The report states data of over 92,000 ration cards issued is not available with the department as they were either corrupted by a virus attack, or there was a failure of the disc management system or other unforeseen causes. Besides, 82,000 ration cards were printed in excess, even as stock registers of ration cards received, issued or the closing balance were not being maintained. The report also states that the a large number of fair price shops do not display the stock position and sample of food grains as stipulated in the PDS rules. Many documents demanded by the audit committee were not even provided.
Inefficiency in functioning of Food and Supply department
● Number of APL cards rose from 1.36 lakh in September 2010 to
1.38 lakhs in October 2010 and then fell to 1.15 lakh in November 2011. As stamping of cards had been completed by the department in February 2009, the rise and fall in the number of APL cards stamped after the closure of the scheme needs explanation.
● Only 1.01 lakh Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) families were iden-
tified against a targeted 1.57 lakh, depriving 0.56 lakh families of benefits of the scheme.
● Against a target of 8,040 senior citizens, the department could identify only 129 beneficiaries under Annapurna scheme during 2006-11. Funds available for beneficiaries remained unutilised.
● Delhi’s food management system was not functioning properly as quantities allocated by GoI couldn’t be utilised in full. Even quantities allocated by the department were not fully lifted from FCI outlets and distributed.
● CAG report states there was a noticeable change in number of
cards even after prescribed schedule of reviewing of cards was over. However, it was neither flagged as an area of concern by the computer branch nor distribution branch of the department, though it forms the only basis of allocation of kerosene to fair price shops and depots. Under such circumstances, existence of invalid cards and misappropriation of the food grains/kerosene under PDS couldn’t be ruled out.
Delay in issue of ration cards
● The PDS control orders envisage that no eligible applicant be
denied a ration card. Also, desig-nated authority should issue them within a month of receipt of application, after verifications. However, records of BPL (Fresh) cards issued in Circle 65 and 67
show there were delays in 100 cases, ranging from 69-332 days. In 16 other selected circles, audit couldn’t work out the delay as dairy number at the time of receipt of application was not recorded in the card-issue registers.
● The department said on Feb 2012 that delay in issue of ration cards was due to relaxation in eligibility criteria, delimitation of
areas, and delay in approval of application by vigilance commit-tee, etc. This is unacceptable as cards should have been issued within a month of applying. Also, audit shows cases of delay pertain to people whose applications were received and cards issued from the same circle offices.
Irregularity in issuing BPL (fresh) cards
● In Feb 2009, Delhi government
decided to issue BPL (Fresh) cards to residents eligible from March 30, 2009 on. Instructions for issuance of cards stipulated circle officers should enter applications for BPL (Fresh) cards in a separate register. Details were to be scanned and kept as computerised records, and cards to be printed only on basis of scanned data and issued to family-heads on biometric identification of thumbprints. Scrutiny of records revealed, data of only 54,378 applicants were available, but the
department had made 1,36,436 cards. Clearly, circle officers hadn’t followed instructions. The department couldn’t explain printing of 82,058 excess cards not supported by scanned data. Zonal offices also didn’t maintain stock of blank cards received or issued, nor of closing balance at the end of each month. There was no physical verification of stock, to check for misutilisation.
● The department stated in Feb 2012 that scanned data of 92,058 new BPL (Fresh) cards was lost as data saved in zonal offices got corrupted by virus/failure of disc management or other unforeseen
cause. Also, it was stipulated that the bidder would have to ensure his database was stored in the zonal office and be accessible to the government—basically hold it in trust with the government. He needed to update central database daily and carry out monthly comparison of data. None of this was done.
Functioning of Fair Price Shops and Kerosene Oil Depots
● The audit committee investigated 157 out of 216 fair price shops (FPS) and kerosene oil depots (KOD) in the capital, and found that stock position in 25 FPS/KOD was not displayed.
● In 86 FPS/KOD, total beneficiaries under each scheme (BPL/APL/AAY) was not displayed.
● In 15 FPS, scale of ration allowed was not displayed.
● In 114 FPS, samples of food grain were not displayed.
● In 89 FPS, signature/thumb impression of beneficiaries were not obtained. These irregularities and deficiencies in functioning of the FPS, were indicative of poor monitoring of FPS.
The audit report says that the quality of foodgrain distributed was questionable in the absence of a quality control mechanism. The monitoring system was deficient, in the absence of mandatory checks by the vigilance committee, and non-adherence of orders on transportation timelines for foodgrains and kerosene.