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Niti Aayog, the Centre’s think-tank, has failed to submit its evaluation study of the decentralised procurement (DCP) scheme for the procurement of wheat/paddy despite the task being entrusted in 2017, a Parliamentary Standing Committee has said. The panel has asked the Food Ministry to take up the issue at the highest level to get the report at the earliest.
According to the 22nd report of the Standing Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, tabled in Parliament last week, the panel had in March this year desired to get the evaluation of the DCP scheme completed in six months by Niti Aayog and Institute of Economic Growth by taking the matter at the highest level.
“In the Action Taken Reply, the Department (of Food and Public Distribution) informed that despite their Letter in March 2021 to Niti Aayog, no response has been received to date. The Committee, while reiterating its original recommendation, desires to take up the matter at the highest level for completion of the evaluation by both agencies on a priority basis and submission of their Report at the earliest.”
Under the DCP scheme, States are allowed to procure, store and distribute (as for requirement under the Food Security law) foodgrains through their own agencies and transfer the surplus to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) after meeting the quality standards. Whereas in non-DCP states, procurement is the responsibility of FCI.
UP status, improvement
Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Maharashtra and Gujarat are the DCP States for paddy procurement. Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Bihar are the DCP states for wheat. Uttar Pradesh surrendered its DCP status a few years ago, shifting the responsibility on the FCI as a result procurement in the State has improved significantly.
The panel, in March, had recommended the Food Ministry to “make earnest efforts to motivate the remaining States to adopt the (DCP) scheme and try to cordially address their problems, if any, in implementation of the scheme and provide maximum possible assistance to them to achieve this objective.”
The parliamentary panel has also asked the Food Ministry to “expedite the examination of the audit report” by the empowered committee of Executive Directors of FCI on the issue of rationalisation of establishment cost, estimated at Rs 2,430 crore in the previous fiscal. The panel in March had suggested FCI to “attempt to reduce” the establishment cost.
The Food Ministry has also informed the panel that the majority of the (NFSA) beneficiaries were getting their monthly entitlement under PMGKAY in the right quantity, free-of-cost and are satisfied with the quality and quantity of foodgrains distributed as per a third-party evaluation conducted for 2020-21. The ministry has received results from 30 States/UTs out of 36 States/UTs where the study was conducted.
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