Telangana: Ration dealers commission hiked
Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao hiked the commission of ration dealers from Rs.900 to Rs.1400 per ton besides considering favourably 13 of their key demands.
Hyderabad: Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Tuesday hiked the commission of ration dealers from Rs.900 to Rs.1400 per ton besides considering favourably 13 of their key demands.
As many as 17,227 ration dealers in the State tasked with the distribution of food grains and other essential commodities to over 91 lakh beneficiaries of the public distribution system, will benefit from this.
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The final round of talks held by Finance Minister T Harish Rao and Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalakar with the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the ration dealers in the Secretariat were successful. Both the Ministers responded positively on the grievances poured out by the JAC.
Deputy Speaker Padma Rao Goud and JAC honorary president and MLA Padma Devender Reddy also took part in the talks. The dealers’ commission, which was hiked recently from Rs.200 to Rs.900 per ton was hiked further to Rs.1400. The hike would result in an additional burden of Rs.139 crore per annum to the State exchequer. The Ministers said the Chief Minister who was concerned about the welfare of almost every section in the State, sought to extend government support to the ration dealers community as well.
When the State was formed, the commission of the dealers was only Rs.200 per metric ton, but now it has been enhanced to 1400 rupees – a seven fold hike. Telangana was the only State which has increased the commission by 700 percent in the shortest time, they said.
Though the Centre was not giving any extra quota to the needy, the State government, with its commitment to the poor and to ensure that no one would go hungry, had focused its full attention to the public distribution system. The State government was giving 6 kg of rice to each of the 91 lakh beneficiaries, covering 35.56 lakh cards as against the total 90.05 lakh cards.
The government has also considered the demand for grant of dealership on the lines of the compassionate appointments to the heirs of 100 dealers who died while serving during the pandemic. The government also assured implementation of Rs.5 lakh insurance for ration dealers on the lines of Rythu Bima.
The insurance will bring every dealer under Arogyasri. Establishment of weighbridges for accurate weighing at MLS points and renewal of dealership for every 5 years were among other demands considered by the Government. Increase in the age limit for ration dealership from 40 to 50 years, immediate assistance of Rs.10,000 for conducting funerals in case of death of dealers were also considered. The Ministers also assured to consider the demand for removing the instances of stock variation up to 1.5 quintal from the scope of cases and allotment of land for the construction of a Ration Bhavan in Hyderabad.
