Changes in system necessary to control black-marketing:Bhargava

Bhopal, Mar 17 (UNI) Madhya Pradesh Cooperative Minister Gopal Bhargava today admitted that poor people are not getting essential items such as foodgrains and kerosene in adequate quantity due to lacunae in the arrangement.

Replying to Rs 272 crore budgetary demands of the Cooperative, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection departments, Mr Bhargava said a change in the system can go a long way in enabling poor get their right but the Centre will be required to change its rules under the PDS.

Mr Bhargava pointed out that the difference in open market price and price in ration shops for PDS items of wheat and kerosene led to black marketing.

Poor received kerosene at Rs nine a litre and wheat at Rs two per kilo at ration shops instead of market price of Rs 23 and Rs 12 respectively.

In order to prevent this, the government can deposit a certain amount in the bank accounts of poor so that they can procure foodgrains and kerosene from market directly.

He said the government had written to the Centre in this regard.

However, it had not received any reply so far. He said the state had 22,000 fair price shops but still black-marketing has not been controlled despite several efforts.

Citing a survey, he said Madhya Pradesh ranked first in terms of PDS in the country. However, under prevailing conditions, black-marketing could not be controlled even by the Army.

After the Minister's reply, the budgetary demands were passed by a division of votes of 68 votes to 16 votes.

UNI