Minister for Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali today said the Government would explore the possibility of providing food-grains to the consumers matching the local staple diet.He asked the department to start exercise in this regard directing the functionaries to take into account the food choice of the locals while supplying the food-grains.The Minister was speaking at a meeting convened to review allocation and distribution of food-grains in Doda, Ramban, Bhaderwah, Kishtwar, Banihal, and Reasi areas of Jammu province.The Minister said the department should respect staple food choice of people in both Jammu and Kashmir regions.He said that for those whose staple diet is rice, they should be provided with it, while the districts where flour is preferred they should get the same.Minister of State for Transport (Independent charge), Revenue, Public Works (Roads & Buildings), Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Agriculture Production, YSS, Mr. Sunil Kumar Sharma, Minister of State for Finance and Planning, Information Technology, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, FCS&CA, Tribal Affairs, Relief & Rehabilitation and Labor and Employment, Mr. Ajay Nanda, MLA Bhaderwah Daleep Singh Parihar, MLA Doda Shakti Raj Parihar, MLA Banihal, Vikar Rasool and MLA Inderwal Ghulam Mohammed Saroori also attended the meeting.
Minister Sunil Kumar Sharma, along with other MLAs appreciated Mr. Zulfkar Ali for streamlining ration supply to ensure that the people get food-grains on time. The legislators also highlighted various issues regarding the allocations and distribution of food-grains in their respective constituencies.Responding to the points raised, the Minister directed the concerned officers to look into the matter and get all the issues resolved in time bound manner. He also directed for constitution of committees to look into the irregularities, if any, in the distribution process.Asking the departmental functionaries to be proactive in decision making, the Minister said; “If we are saving Kerosene oil in a certain area, the same could be directed to the areas where we are in deficit”. He said instead of holding back stock it should be directed to a place where it is in high demand.Assuring full cooperation to his staff, the Minister directed the officers to come straight to him if their superior is not addressing their concerns and is instead putting things in abeyance. He said that instead of sitting on an issue, aim should be to get it resolved at an earliest. It would not only improve the functioning of the department, but also enable serving people in a better manner.Responding to issues raised by the legislators, the Minister issued on the spot directions for establishing at least three “Food Godowns” in each constituency. He said that the main aim should be to serve the consumers in a better way.Secretary FCS&CA, Shafiq Raina, Director FCS&CA, Jammu G S Chib, Joint Director, Jammu, Assistant Directors, FCS&CA Doda, Reasi, Kishtwar, Ramban, Assistant Director Trade and Store, and Assistant Director Mills, besides other concerned officers attended the meeting.