New Delhi, Apr 4 (IANS): Delhi Lt. Governor V.K. Saxena has given the approval to the proposal to set up Vigilance Committees at Fair Price Shops (FPS) to ensure a corruption-free, efficient and transparent Public Distribution System, an official said on Tuesday.

The proposal was sent to L-G Saxena on March 27.

While agreeing to the proposal, L-G Saxena has underlined the delay of eight years in the setting up of these committees, and also expressed a grave concern that the proposal has inordinately taken this long.

He has underlined that the proposal to this effect first mooted by the Food & Supplies Department in 2017 kept oscillating at different levels and was kept pending on one occasion at the level of the Minister for nine months before being returned without assigning any reason.

The L-G in his note to the Chief Minister has stated that the constitution of these Committees that seeks to ensure transparency in PDS which directly affects the common person, has been dealt with a very lackadaisical manner.

The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 mandates the constitution of Vigilance Committees at FPS level to ensure transparency in the effectiveness of Public Distribution System (PDS) at the ground level.

The FPS-level committees also oversee the addition and deletion of names of beneficiaries to the Fair Price Beneficiary list, apart from maintaining vigilance over the quality of food, timely delivery and distribution of ration commodities.

The L-G in his note on file to the Chief Minister flagging laxity, also mentioned: "Majority of states like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telengana, Goa, Odisha, Tripura, Haryana, and Assam have constituted the Committees during the years 2016 to 2018 but Delhi could not set up a Fair Price Shop-level Committee in the past eight years.