68755 left-out households in JK brought under PDS ambit during 2021-22

SRINAGAR : The Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA) in J&K has, during the financial year 2021-22, brought a whopping 68755 households under the ambit of the National Food Security Scheme.

“This is the outcome of the extensive exercise launched by the Department last year to bring all the deserving left-out households and beneficiaries, under the ambit of the Public Distribution System,” a spokesman of the FCS&CA said.

He said out of 68755 households added during 2021-22, 3780 have been registered under Antyodaya Anna Yojana category (AAY) and 64975 under Priority Household Category (PHH). The spokesman said that through a recent communication, FCS&CA Department has once again requested the Divisional Commissioners of Jammu and Kashmir divisions to initiate an appropriate exercise at the District-Level, in coordination with FCS&CA Department, to include the left-out eligible households/beneficiaries, if any, in PDS network, in light of the criteria notified by the FCS&CA Department and TPDS Control Order-2015, issued by the Government of India. He said the fresh request was made to the Divisional Commissioners in order to ensure that no deserving beneficiaries or households remain outside ambit of PDS network.

The spokesman said that the officers and officials of the Department are regularly sensitized about this issue and the progress is reviewed periodically.

The spokesman said that in order to streamline and make the Public Distribution System more credible and transparent, the Department vigorously pursued Aadhar seeding of beneficiaries in all categories in a mission mode so that all the genuine beneficiaries get identified and avail their entitled quota in a smooth and transparent manner. “In the event of any beneficiaries being without Aadhar; the department has notified other means of authentication to be adopted for such beneficiaries, so that they don’t remain without ration.

The Department, he said, has introduced a nominee policy last year to handle the failure of authentication in case of old ages persons/ workforce that has worn out finger prints, differently-abled persons, minors, bed-ridden persons with no physically able person in the family to draw rations, so far 6600 households have availed this facility. He urged all such families, who are eligible under the policy to avail this facility in order to get their rightful entitlement of rations and avoid their dependence on dealers or salesmen for availing their rations.

The spokesman further informed that while fortified rice for ICDS & PM Poshan schemes is being supplied to all the districts, the distribution of fortified rice under the PDS Schemes has also started in three (03) districts of J&K in accordance with directions of the Government of India. These include Kupwara, Baramulla and Udhampur. Fortified rice is nutrition rich rice meant to beat malnutrition. The extra nutrients including vitamins and minerals are added to broken rice and shaped into rice like kernel using extrusion process. Normally, in post harvesting phase, many essential nutrients and minerals are lost during milling and the polishing process which are later added to make the rice nutritious. This is a well known process of fortification. Spokesman has urged the public not to believe in rumors being spread in this regard.