Sweet news for the people of Tripura. After pulses the Tripura government from Wednesday launched a new programme for distribution of sugar through the public distribution system (PDS).
Chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb in presence of Manoj Kanti Deb, minister for food, civil supplies and consumer affairs (FCS&CA), two MPs Pratima Bhowmik and Rebati Kumar Tripura and other officials during a function at the Agartala town hall distributed packets of sugar to consumers of ration shops as part of the state government’s bid to give sugar to consumers of fair price shops in order to provide relief to poorer sections of people.
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Deb appreciating the role of the State Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs said that during the last 14 to 15 months period of BJP-IPFT government, Tripura reached amongst the five best states in PDS in India, which has the largest in the world.
Deb criticized the previous Left Front government and viewed that the then government never wanted anything to work systematically but when people in 2014 people of the state saw the work of PM Modi who through various activities right for digitalization of the system brought transparency, they were also inspired by it.
Without naming Manik Sarkar, Deb said that his predecessor who was the Chief Minister of the State for four times, he was projected as Mr Clean but if it was so how during ePDS and computerization of fair price shop, 63,000 bogus ration cards were found in the State and for which who is responsible?
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He informed that no additional fund from the centre, the state managing on its own from the savings of 63 crores annually from the cancellation 63,000 bogus ration cards enrolling 2,81,000 fake names which got exposed after implementation of e-PDS brought transparency in the system with improved work culture.
According to the chief minister, the state government has taken steps to ensure food security and is dedicated towards the benefit of all schemes to reach the poorest of the poor so that Tripura is transformed into a ‘Model State’ in three years time.
Meanwhile, state FCS&CA Minister Manoj Kanti Deb said that after ‘musur dal’ from the Tripura government added sugar @ Rs 23 per kg per card per month to the list of essential commodities to be distributed through a network of 1809 fair price shops (FPS) spread throughout the state.
He claimed that once turned away, now people again coming to FPS and with the addition of ‘musur dal’ & sugar in the list of commodities distributed besides streamlining the system.
Deb informed that proposal for distribution of mustard oil through FPS in pipeline beside other essential commodities like detergent powder, soap, incense sticks, stationeries in 100 FPS in an around capital Agartala and on an experimental basis.
People gathered at the function mainly women expressed that they shall be benefited with the reintroduction of sugar distribution through PDS as they shall now get sugar in less than half of the present market price.
Earlier sugar use to be distributed through FPS but the previous Left Front government stopped it alleging the center was not ready to bear the subsidy amount directly during purchase rather reimburse it but it was not possible for the then state government.