Palamau district has come down hard on unscrupulous public distribution system (PDS) dealers who have hoarded ration meant for the relief of the needy during the time of coronavirus.

Forty-three licences of PDS dealers have been suspended in Palamau district since March 31, said district supply officer Amit Prakash on Friday. Sixteen of those 43 dealers also have FIRs against them.

DSO Prakash said: “Palamau DC Shantanu Kumar Agrahari has given strict orders to rein in and suspend errant PDS dealers who in this time of coronavirus are usurping the legitimate provisions of food meant for the poor.”

DSO said the first licence to be suspended was of Laxmi Milan Self Help Group (SHG) of village Angara under Loinga panchayat in Paton block. This women’s SHG was found to have sold food grains in black meant for ration card holders for the month of March. The SHG’s licence suspension came into effect from March 31.

Prakash said the 43th suspension of PDS licences was done on April 16 in Chhaterpur’s Sildaag village where dealer Ramjatan Ram was found guilty of misbehaving with ration card holders.

He said the range of follies and irregularities of PDS dealers are varied but the intention was the same — duping the poor.

The DSO further said all ration card holders of the suspended PDS shop had been tagged with another PDS dealer of the same panchayat.

DC Agrahari said the unscrupulous PDS dealers lack conscience even in this most critical time of Covid. “They are selling government food grains in black to dupe ration card holders. They are making false ration entries even for months in which no ration has been given,” he added. On the 16 dealers who have FIRs against them, the DC said: “Their offences are unpardonable. They have committed crimes against hungry people by stealing ration for petty gains.”

The present chief secretary Sukhdev Singh, when he was CS-designate, had in one of his video-conferences opined that suspending the licence of a PDS dealer was no solution to combat black marketing of government food grains, rather proper monitoring of PDS shops in every district can help curb black marketing.

Palamau district has 1,508 PDS shops. The DC has ordered one government school teacher to keep watch on one PDS shop. “These government school teachers have been vested with magisterial powers for the purpose of monitoring PDS shops,” the DC said.

A senior bureaucrat, who did not want to be quoted as he did not want his opinion to be seen as a criticism of this plan of action, however raised a valid point.

“What are block supply officers doing? Why only punish a PDS dealer and not the block supply officer who has his fingers in all the pies?” the senior bureaucrat said.

PDS dealers also don’t have it easy always. Dealer Shankar Sao of Tarhassi block was saved by the police when a goon entered his house and fired a shot in the air to frighten the dealer into giving him free ration.

Godown anomaly

Divisional manager of the FCI in Palamau, R.N. Mandal, lodged an FIR with Chainpur police against a couple, Rita and Shashi Lal, who are investors with the FCI on charges under Sections of Essential Services Maintenance Act. Mandal alleged the couple’s irresponsibility made the FCI suffer during transport of government food grains from the FCI godown in Shahpur to the state food corporation godown in Daltonganj’s Sudna.