Maha govt increases commission of ration shopkeepers by Rs 20 per quintal

Mumbai (The Uttam Hindu): In a major policy decision, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday decided to increase the commission of ration shopkeepers distributing food grains to 7 crore beneficiaries across rural Maharashtra by Rs 20 per quintal - from Rs 150 to Rs 170. Another key decision was to allow ration shops to sell 10 essential commodities approved by the Central government and supplied through NAFED. These decisions were taken at the meeting chaired by the Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Food and Civil Supplies, Ajit Pawar.

“Today’s decision has fulfilled a long-pending demand of ration shopkeepers. Ration shops serve as the medium to distribute affordable food grains to over 80 crore people across the country, including 7 crore in Maharashtra. A robust system is in place to transport foodgrains from FCI godowns under the Central Government to ration shops in urban and rural Maharashtra,” said the Deputy Chief Minister. He added that to achieve this, a new mechanism for procurement, distribution, control, and maintenance using technologies like smart ration cards, electronic weighing machines, GPS tracking, and live monitoring will be implemented in Maharashtra.

“The system currently used in Gujarat will also be studied for reference,” he added. Pawar also informed that pending issues related to the rationing system will be resolved promptly. He directed officials to ensure timely and systematic food grain distribution to every ration cardholder in villages and to take action against negligent officers. Further, Pawar also announced a major decision to restructure rationing offices in Mumbai and Thane, ensuring at least one office per assembly constituency. “The last such restructuring was done in 1980. After the new restructuring, one zonal office and five new rationing offices will be created in Mumbai and Thane, which is expected to strengthen the civil supply system in the region,” said the Deputy Chief Minister.