Profile
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, Sugar and kerosene oil 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:
1. Ensure Public Distribution
which includes issuance of new/duplicate
ration
cards of different categories, surrender/deletion
of ration cards,
Inclusion/omission of individuals etc.
2. Granting
of Fair Price Shop licenses under PDS/Kerosene Oil Depots.
3.
Arrangement/Management/Distribution of food grains to Targeted
Public Distribution System
families.
4.
Regulation of prices of essential commodities/market checking etc.
5.
Organizing Consumer Awareness Programmes.
6.
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
|
55
|
Punch
|
476835
|
6
|
Rajouri
|
642415
|
7
|
Ramban
|
283713
|
8
|
Reasi
|
314667
|
9
|
Samba
|
318898
|
10
|
Udhampur
|
554985
|
|
|
5378538
|
The
Category wise Coverage under NFSA in Respect of Jammu Division is as under:-
S. No.
|
DISTRICT NAME
|
PHH
|
NPHH
|
Total
|
Exclusion
|
1
|
Doda
|
263447
|
139631
|
403078
|
6498
|
2
|
Jammu
|
793888
|
603588
|
1397476
|
128930
|
3
|
Kathua
|
376240
|
223190
|
599430
|
16281
|
4
|
Kishtwar
|
157903
|
70053
|
227956
|
3081
|
5
|
Punch
|
297182
|
171953
|
469135
|
7685
|
6
|
Rajouri
|
413633
|
219758
|
633391
|
9024
|
7
|
Ramban
|
178627
|
101961
|
280588
|
2725
|
8
|
Reasi
|
198128
|
111319
|
309447
|
5267
|
9
|
Samba
|
194177
|
114729
|
308906
|
9705
|
10
|
Udhampur
|
335435
|
200360
|
535795
|
19562
|
|
|
3208660
|
1956542
|
5165202
|
208758
|
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
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
2.
|
PHH(BPL)
|
5 Kg/
soul
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
3.
|
PHH
|
5 Kg/
Soul
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
4.
|
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 all the eligible Souls under NFSA
|
Scale
|
500
Grams per soul per month to PHH Rationees from July 2017 onward.
As per
Govt. Order No:-173-FCS&CA of 2017 Dated:-09-06-2017
|
Rate
|
Rs.
25.00 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 Administrative
Department is allocating about 1700 KL SKO on monthly during summer and
about 2500 KL SKO on monthly during winter in Jammu Division. The FCS&CA and
Legal Metrology Departments are regulatory authorities and frequently making
inspections both at the level of LPG filling station, stockists and
retailers of SKO and 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.
Consumer Councils
The Act also
provides for establishment of State and District Consumer Protection
Councils. These Councils are duly constituted. The State Consumer Protection
Council stands constituted under the chairmanship of Hon�ble Minister for
FCS&CA.
The District
Consumer Protection Councils (DCPCs) have been set up in each district under
the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner in accordance with the provision of
consumer Protection Act with the objective to promote and protect the rights
of consumers.
|