Delhi government approves 3-fold hike in margin for ration shops

NEW DELHI: Following threats of strike by fair price shop owners if their commission for the distribution of foodgrain was not revised, Delhi government on Saturday approved a three-fold hike in the margin allowed to the dealers. The government will accordingly give Rs 200 per quintal as commission in place of the Rs 70 per quintal the city ration sellers were currently getting. This enhanced rate of margin money will come into effect from March.
Food and supplies minister Imran Hussain announced the hike after the Delhi cabinet at a meeting chaired by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal approved the proposal.Ration shops distribute sugar, rice and wheat under the National Food Security Act, 2013. The distributors had described the existing commission of 70 paise per kg as a negligible margin that was not enough to sustain their families or adequate enough for them to run their shops in a viable manner.
Delhi government distributes specified food articles amounting to 3.8 lakh quintals to 72.8 lakh beneficiaries every month under the Targeted Public Distribution System as regulated by the National Food Security Act.
“The decision to increase the commission was taken keeping in mind factors like daily wages of fair price shop workers, storage cost, shortage incurred during retail distribution, electricity charges and a reasonable profit,” Hussain said in a statement. The minister also expressed hope that the decision would help curb unlawful activities such as black marketing, diversion of ration to regular shops, and depriving beneficiaries of or disbursing lesser ration than entitled to them.
The ration dealers had been putting pressure on the government for a hike following a decrease in margin since April last year after the government withdrew the use of electronic point of sale (e-PoS) machines. When the machines were introduced last year, the government had increased the margin money paid to the dealers from Rs 70 to Rs 200 per quintal. The e-Pos machines were pulled out after the government discovered that their introduction had resulted in denial of ration to many beneficiaries due to problems, including poor internet connectivity and biometric verification failures due to erosion of fingerprints and other markers.
The withdrawal of the e-PoS machines led to the rate of commission reverting to Rs 70 per quintal. At a meeting with the food minister earlier this month, the Delhi Sarkari Ration Dealers Sangh, an association of the city’s 2,255 fair price shop owners, had requested the government to reintroduce the e-POS machines in the ration shops.
In a statement on Saturday, Delhi government said that it has given due consideration to the cost of owning/hiring space to operate fair price shops in various parts of Delhi and the payment of wages by these to skilled workers, as applicable. “The decision to increase margin money will bring relief and succour to the ration dealers. They will work with renewed vigour and enthusiasm in distributing due ration to the beneficiaries,” the minister said.