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Social audit - formation of an FPS Committee by each Gram Panchayat
The Gram Panchayats should be encouraged to form a FPS Committee which should include the Members of the existing Vigilance Committees for the Fair Price Shops of the area under its jurisdiction as also the representatives of the TPDS groups, women and SC/ST/OBC panchayat members to keep a watch on the functioning of the FPS. They should be given the right to inspect the records of the FPSs, the periodicity of which should be prescribed by the State Governments. The Committee should be required to report their findings to the Gram Sabha. They should also endorse a copy of the report to the prescribed civil supplies authority for action wherever required.
Those states where properly constituted Gram Panchayats are not in position for some reason, the State Governments should evolve an alternative mechanism to discharge the aforesaid responsibilities of Gram Panchayats. The existing Vigilance Committees could be one such machinery.
Involvement of the Gram Sabha in the running of the FPS
The Government of India has already written to the States that Gram Sabhas should be convened four times in a year on January 26th ( Republic Day ), May 1st ( Labour Day ), August 15th ( Independence Day ) and October 2nd ( Gandhi Jayanti ). It is expected that the State Governments would have also prescribed the venue and time (publicized in advance) for these meetings because lack of information or insufficient information on these vital items is often made use of by the unscrupulous Gram Panchayat functionaries in preventing the larger body of Gram Sabha from attending its meetings. The extraneous considerations may be the motive in changing of the venue and time at the last moment thereby defeating the very purpose of transparency with regard to the Gram Sabha meetings. The report of the Gram Panchayat Committee on the functioning of the FPS of the area should be compulsory item on the agenda of the Gram Sabha to which the FPS owners should also be invited. Their presence in fact should be insisted upon. If the Gram Sabha does not find the functioning of the FPS satisfactory, a report to that effect shall be made to Government functionary prescribed by the State Government. This shall be done within one week of the Gram Sabha meeting.
Duty of the Prescribed Authority on receipt of the report of Gram Sabha about the FPS functioning
The prescribed authority on receiving a report from the Gram Sabha about the unsatisfactory functioning of the FPS and the details thereof shall conduct and complete the enquiry in a time bound manner as prescribed by the State Government. If the charges preferred by the Gram Sabha are found to contain substance, the licence of the FPS shall be suspended forthwith and he will be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the law, again within a stipulated time frame to be prescribed by the State Government. Alternative arrangements regarding running of the suspended/cancelled FPS shall be made by the prescribed authority in accordance with the prescribed procedure for the purpose.
Making of new ration cards
The present procedure of issue of ration cards needs to be simplified so that within a stipulated number of days (30-45 days), the applicant’s claim for a ration card is verified and his claim either accepted or rejected, under intimation to the applicant. It should be possible for the applicants to file their application with the Gram Panchayat who should forward it to the competent prescribed authority, responsible for issue of ration cards.
Checking of ration cards
The Gram Panchayats/Gram Sabhas should also be responsible for checking of the ration cards occasionally to find out whether the card is genuine and the number of units contained on it are correct. The FPS Committee of the Gram Panchayat will report to the Gram Sabha the results of its occasional checking. It would contain details like the number of checks carried out and the outcome of its efforts to eliminate bogus ration cards and the number of units contained on the ration cards checked.
Information to be printed on the ration card
Some basic information needed by a consumer should be printed on the last page of the ration card. It should mention his rights and duties. Among other things, it should contain the information regarding the entitlement per unit of the PDS items, their price at the time of the issue of the ration card and also the name and address of the authority to whom a complaint with regard to the FPS may be addressed to.
Redressal of Grievances
The consumers can address their complaints with regard to the FPS to the authority the designation and address of which should be widely publicized including the Gram Panchayats. It should also find a place on the information sheet to be attached along with each ration card mentioned in the preceding paragraph. However, the consumer should, alternatively, be able to make complaints to the Gram Panchayats which can refer it to the prescribed authority for redressal. All such complaints should be disposed off by the prescribed authority within a fixed period to be prescribed by the State Government and the outcome should also be intimated to the Panchayat.
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