Book ration dealers found diverting pds items: DC

NTR District In-charge Collector, Dr Nidhi Meena, has instructed officials to take strict action against ration dealers who divert essential goods. She directed them to register cases under Section 6A of the Essential Commodities Act if any irregularities are found. Dr Meena gave these instructions during a meeting with officials from the Revenue and Civil Supplies Department.
So far, 54 cases have been registered against ration dealers under Section 6A in the NTR district.
NTR District In-charge Collector, Dr Nidhi Meena, made it clear that she would not tolerate any irregularities in the distribution of essential goods under the Public Distribution System (PDS). She instructed officials to take stern action against those involved in diverting goods and to register cases under Section 6A of the Essential Commodities Act. Additionally, she urged the officials to expedite the recruitment process for new ration dealers in the district.
Dr Meena convened the meeting with officials from the Revenue and Civil Supplies Department at the Pingali Venkaiah Meeting Hall, located on the collectorate premises in Vijayawada on Saturday. The primary focus of the meeting was to ensure the proper distribution of essential goods, and she sought updates from officials regarding the pricing of these goods.
She directed officials to set up special counters in all Rythu Bazaars to sell essential items like palm oil, redgram dal, and onions. Dr Meena highlighted the issue of some ration dealers diverting goods, stressing that the Civil Supplies Department should closely monitor the PDS to ensure timely distribution to ration cardholders.
Furthermore, she instructed that no one should be excused if found guilty of diverting goods, and cases must be registered under Section 6A. Over the past three months, 54 cases have been registered against ration dealers for such irregularities, and 627 tonnes of PDS rice have been seized, she noted.
Dr Meena also suggested that Revenue officials conduct weekly inspections of all ration depots within their jurisdictions. She urged them to closely monitor Mobile Dispensing Units (MDUs) to ensure they are delivering goods properly to the public.
Dr Meena announced that a notification would be issued on October 20 for the appointment of new Fair Price (FP) Shop Dealers. A written test for the applicants will be held on November 5, and the recruitment process will be completed by November 12. She explained that, as per government orders, 82 new ration depots will be established in the NTR district by bifurcating existing depots that have more than 800 ration cards.
She also mentioned that, along with rice, jowar will be distributed through ration depots, with each ration cardholder receiving 3 kg of jowar. Additionally, she directed officials to take steps to sell palm oil at Rs 110 per litre, sunflower oil at Rs 124, and red gram at Rs 150 per kg in all Rythu Bazaars.
Vijayawada Municipal Corporation Commissioner HM Dhyanachandra, DRO V Srinivasa Rao, Civil Supplies Department District Manager Venkateswarlu, DSO Papa Rao, RDOs K Chaitanya and Madhuri were also present at the meeting.