Rs 2-a-kg rice to APL families in KBK raises hornet's nest

The Pioneer, 16th July, 2008
Pioneer News Service Bhubaneswar

If the decision of the Government to provide rice at Rs 2 per kg to the people Above Poverty Line (APL) in the KBK region is strictly implemented, Ministers like AU Singh Deo and KV Singh Deo and other leaders in the region like Narasingha Mishra and Balgopal Mishra would also be benefited under the scheme.
Finance Minister Prafulla Chandra Ghdai raised this question at the Collectors' Conference here on Monday. A seemingly embarrassed Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik took note of the query silently, according to a high-level source.
Interestingly, APL cards were distributed way back in 1994, and after these 14 years most of the cards are lost. So, how a 6 lakh-APL population would be provided Rs 2-a-kg rice in the KBK districts without proper cards in place is a big question. Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the concerned department Raj K Sharma had no answer to the query at the Collectors' Conference.
When the APL population in KBK is obliged with Rs 2-a-kg rice, the APL population of Gajapati district should also be provided with the benefit, said Gajapati Collector DV Swamy. Similarly, the APL people of Kandhamal district should be given the cheap rice, wanted the district's new Collector Krishna Kumar.
The Collectors suggested that at least four to five days a month be stipulated for distribution of the cheap rice so that people are able to come from the far-flung areas to collect the rice. While a panchayat is spread over a kilometre area, it takes to cover 25 km to reach the panchayat headquarters of a tribal district, they pointed out.
Several Ministers raised doubt over the capability of the panchayats in handling the Rs 2-a-kg rice programme. They said all sorts of works were now being entrusted with the panchayats without any manpower. While the entire administrative machinery has been mobilised for this programme, more than 30 per cent vacancies at the field level raise doubts about the workability of the scheme. However, as per the decision of the Government, officials from Revenue Inspector to Collector would be involved in implementing the programme