The Department of Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs is one of the oldest established Departments previously known as Food & Supplies Department and later on as Consumer Affairs & Public Distribution Department.

The Department is entrusted with the responsibility of providing Food Security to the people in general and to the vulnerable sections of the society in particular.

The Department provides food grains, Rice, Atta and Sugar to consumers through a network of sale depots and Fair Price Shops. Besides enforcing & protecting the Consumer Rights.

The Department is entrusted with the following assignments:

  • Ensure Public Distribution which includes issuance of new/duplicate ration cards of different categories, surrender/deletion of ration cards, Inclusion/omission of individuals etc.
  • Granting of Fair Price Shop licenses.
  • Arrangement/Management/Distribution of food grains to Targeted Public Distribution System families.
  • Regulation of prices of essential commodities/market checking etc.
  • Organizing Consumer Awareness Programmes.
  • Redressal of Consumer Grievances and Consumer Rights.

Public Distribution System

The Public Distribution System envisages the system of management of food economy and distribution of foodgrains at affordable prices.

The PDS is although supplement in nature has almost all along helped to ensure availability of un-interrupted supplies of foodgrains in equitable basis at affordable prices not only giving relief to the consumer masses but also exercising stabilizing influence upon the prices of these goods. The PDS is operated under the joint responsibility of Central and State Government. The Central Government through FCI has the responsibility for procurement, Storage, Transportation and bulk allocation of foodgrains, the State Government has the responsibility of making allocation within the State, identification of families, issue of ration cards and distribution of foodgrains to the ration families.

The PDS has evolved country wide in 1960 to meet the critical food shortages in urban areas, later on extending to tribal blocks and areas of high incidence of poverty in 1970's and 1980's till June 1992 When a general entitlement scheme for all consumers without any specific target was launched in the shape of Revamped Public Distribution System (RPDS). In June 1997 the Government of India launched the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) with the focus on poor replacing the RPDS. The allocation to the foodgrains to the Sate/UT's was made by the Government of India on the basis of average consumption in the past i.e. average Annual off - take of foodgrains for the PDS during the past 10 years at the time of introduction of TPDS.

The State Government from 1st February, 2016 has implemented National Food Security Act, 2013. Under this Act, the eligible beneficiaries under priority households (PHH) are entitled to receive 5kgs of food grains per soul per month at subsidized prices of Rs.3/2/1 per kg for rice/wheat/coarse grains. However, the existing beneficiaries under Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), which constitute the poorest of the poor, will continue to receive 35 kg of food grains per household per month.

Under Non-Priority Households (NPHH) category the beneficiaries are provided foodgrains at a scale of 05 kg/soul per month at a subsidized price of Rs.12 per Kg for wheat, Rs.13 per Kg for Atta & Rs.15 per Kg for Rice.

At present the department is providing highly subsidized foodgrains to 32.08 lakh souls under Priority Households (PHH) at a rate of Rs 3 and Rs 2 for Rice and Wheat respectively. The department is also providing subsidized foodgrains to around 19.46 lakh souls under Non-Priority Households (NPHH) @ Rs. 12, Rs. 13 & Rs. 15 for Wheat, Atta and Rice Respectively.

The District -wise Population of Jammu Division as per census of 2011 is as under:-

S. No. DISTRICT NAME Population as per Census 2011
1 Doda 409936
2 Jammu 1529958
3 Kathua 616435
4 Kishtwar 230696
5 Punch 476835
6 Rajouri 642415
7 Ramban 283713
8 Reasi 314667
9 Samba 318898
10 Udhampur 554985
Total 5378538

The Category wise Coverage under NFSA in Respect of Jammu Division is as under:-

S.No. FPS Shops AAY PHH  NPHH EXCLUSION Total
RCs Units RCs Units RCs Units RCs Units RCs Units
1 AD POONCH 10801 40089 57158 233087 32425 115598 697 2550 101081 391324
2 AD RAJOURI 13869 48057 92431 339102 48261 166122 635 2102 155196 555383
3 AD KATHUA 7444 25844 89064 335412 46119 164136 4956 17218 147583 542610
4 AD DODA 9350 34936 53717 201325 30135 107885 872 3166 94074 347312
5 AD RAMBAN 4825 18232 36734 154289 23255 86598 387 1380 65201 260499
6 AD KISHTWAR 6522 19786 38291 128455 17822 59405 607 2149 63242 209795
7 AD UDHAMPUR 6366 24895 66306 263009 38255 140795 4934 18308 115861 447007
8 AD REASI 9569 30812 42471 160432 23415 82208 776 2678 76231 276130
9 AD JAMMU CIRCLE-1 51 112 6492 22366 32768 115586 11515 44893 50826 182957
10 AD JAMMU CIRCLE-2 8 22 5220 18565 25728 99696 11722 52123 42678 170406
11 AD JAMMU RURAL I 6641 23334 80524 295634 37999 137605 1692 5628 126856 462201
12 AD JAMMU RURAL II  2597 9439 63971 240749 27776 105497 3167 12442 97511 368127
13 AD SAMBA 2431 8654 39649 156193 24920 102959 1990 8837 68990 276643
  Total 80474 284212 672028 2548618 408878 1484090 43950 173474 1205330 4490394

The sale rate and the scale of food grains under NFSA of different categories is as under:-

Category-wise, Scale & Rates of food grains under (NFSA)
S.No. Category Monthly Scale Rate per Kg (in Rs)
Wheat Atta Rice
1. PHH(AAY) 35 kg/family Free of Cost 1 Free of Cost
2. PHH 5 Kg/ Soul Free of Cost 1 Free of Cost
3. NPHH 5 Kg/ Soul 12 13 15

The sale rate and the scale of food grains under "J&K Food Entitlement Scheme" of different categories is as under:-

Category wise rate per Kg under "J&K Food Entitlement Scheme"
S.No. Category Rate Under "J&K Food Entitlement Scheme" per Kg (in Rs)
Wheat Atta Rice
1. PHH(AAY) 12 13 15
2 PHH(BPL) 12 13 15
3 PHH 12 13 15
4 NPHH 12 13 15
Scale and Rate of Sugar to the AAY family under NFSA
Scale 1kg per family per month to AAY.
Rate Rs. 13.50 per kg

Safeguarding Consumer Interests

The Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs is continuously taking effective steps to protect the interest of consumers in the State by strictly enforcing the State/central Laws, and organizing consumer awareness programmes. The Department has established consumer courts in the State. The State Consumer Disputes Redressal commission at the State level and two Divisional consumer fora in Jammu and Kashmir Divisions. The State Commission is headed by its President who is a retired judge of the Hon�ble High Court. The Divisional Fora are headed by in-service District and Session Judges. All three Fora are fully constituted. The Government has also approved for setting up of 8 District Foras, 4 each in Jammu and Kashmir Divisions. The requisite staff for the District fora has also been sanctioned and posts referred to the SSRB for making recruitment. Steps are being taken to make the District fora functional as early as possible.

Regulation of Supplies, LPG and Other Petroleum Products

Oil Marketing Companies (viz: IOCL, BPCL & HPCL) are providing services to the public by supplying Kerosene Oil and LPG through network of stockists, distributors and retailers. The FCS&CA and Legal Metrology Departments are regulatory authorities and frequently making inspections at the level of LPG filling station, stockists and retailers of LPG outlets.

Price/Market Control

The prices of specified essential commodities are fixed by the Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs in the cities of Jammu and Srinagar in consultation with the representatives of concerned trade, representatives of concerned Govt. Department and the consumer protection organizations while deliberating upon the issue factors like input costs, wholesale prices, distribution expenses and profit margin of the wholesaler/retailers are taken into account and only then the prices are fixed. To ensure adherence to the notified prices checking squads are in position.

In the districts this responsibility is discharged by the concerned Deputy Commissioner, who are the District Controllers.

District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission

Consumer Protection Division is mandated to implement the Consumer Protection Act, 2019(35 of 2019) dated 09-08-2019 and Rules/Regulations made under the ibid Act. It is entrusted with the framing of policy related to the protection of the interests of the consumers particularly those grievances arising in post-sale of goods and services.

It provides for establishment of three-tier quasi-judicial consumer disputes redressal machinery at the District, State and National levels commonly known as “Consumer Commissions” to render simple, inexpensive and speedy justice to consumers. These redressal agencies have the jurisdiction to adjudicate the complaints received from consumers against any defect in the goods purchased or deficiencies in the services availed or any unfair/restrictive trade practices, etc. adopted by any trader or person

The Department looks after the establishment and functioning of District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, to be known as the District Commission, in each district of the State.

The Government of Jammu and Kashmir vide S.O No.72 of 2022 dated 22.02.2022 in exercise of powers conferred by sub section (1) of section 28 read with clause (a) of section 32 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (35 of 2019), the Government hereby establish District Commissions, in respect of following districts with respective jurisdiction as indicated against each:-

S.No. District Commission Additional Jurisdiction (Districts) in terms of section 32
1. Doda Kishtwar
2. Jammu ------
3. Kathua Samba
4. Rajouri Poonch
5. Udhampur Reasi & Ramban