Newindpress

Mangalore, Oct 5: To ensure supply of foodgrains to beneficiaries and to create awareness among ration card users, food security committees would function in each gram panchayat, Deputy Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao informed on Thursday.

Maheshwar Rao told mediapersons at his office that chairman of standing committee for social justice in gram panchayat would also head the food security committee.

‘‘Besides, a seven-member vigilance committee is being formed for every fair price depot. As many as 203 food security committees and 527 vigilance committees were formed in the district,’’ he added.

From April to May, over 157 vigilance awareness meetings were held. Food Inspectors of the district Food and Civil Supplies Department had inspected 1,162 fair price depots, he informed.

Managers of two fair depots found diverting foodgrains supplied under public distribution system were suspended pending inquiry. The department also seized 1,050 litres of kerosene oil, he added.

Maheswar Rao said according to the door-to-door survey, 47,115 applications for ration cards had been accepted as on October 2006. The district-level Task Force had decided to distribute BPL cards to 16,878 families.

As many as 16,802 families under APL had been selected. From October 2006 until now, the district administration had received 23,225 applications.

There were presently 96,550 ration cards in the district of which 65,758 were APL categories rashion cards, he added.