Bengal to rationalise no. of customers each ration dealer caters to
KOLKATA: The state Food and Supplies department has decided to rationalise the number of customers that each ration dealer across the state has to cater to.
The move is aimed at easing the hardship faced by a section of ration dealers in reaching out to the huge volume of beneficiaries under their jurisdiction.
"Presently there are nearly 21000 ration dealers across the state that cater to 9.20 crore customers. However, there is a disparity among the number of beneficiaries that each ration shop has to reach out to. In some cases, the number is 3000 while in some other cases it is over 12000. So we have taken up the task of rationalisation of the number of beneficiaries for each ration dealer," a senior official of the state Food and Supplies department said.
The process has already started and the department is hopeful that the rationalisation will be over in three to four months. The move will benefit both the customers as well as the dealers.
Some months back, the state Food department had invited applications for more ration dealers. As many as 2700 applications have been received and the department is presently scanning them.
"We are hopeful of completing the Aadhaar card link with the ration cards of the beneficiaries soon," the official added.
Reacting to complaints by a section of ration dealers that they are being compelled to sign in receipt slips even though they are being given lesser allocation, the official said that they should not accept less quantity and should not sign in receipt slips under such circumstances. They were directed to bring the matter before the knowledge of the concerned district inspector.