Minister for Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs and Tribal Affairs Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali said that the government has enhanced BPL quota in the state by 200 per cent and increased the availability of ration enormously since the implementation of National Food Security Act (NFSA).Addressing a convention of ration dealers of Ramban, Doda and Kishtwar here, the Minister informed that after the implementation of NSFA, the supply of ration increased from 7.5 lakh MT to 12 lakh MT, besides enhancement in BPL quota from 26 lakh to 74 lakh in the state.He further informed that BPL households in Doda have been increased from 47,719 to 2,63,447 and the quantum of ration has been raised to 32,000 quintal from existing 27,000 quintal.Vice Chairman Gujjar and Bhakerwal Development Board Gulzar Ahmed Khatana, MLA Doda Shakti Raj Parihar, Secretary Gujjar Advisory Board Mukhtar Ahmed, Director FCS&CA R.A Inqalabi, Director Tribal Affairs Rafi Poswal, Controller Legal Metrology R.K Katoch, DDC Doda Bhawani Rakwal, SSP Shabir Ahmed Khatana and other officers of the department were present in the meeting.
While interacting with the ration dealers of Doda, the Minister gathered firsthand information about the availability and distribution of ration in the district. They apprised him about the problems being faced by them pertaining to enhancement in carriage charges and commission, besides clearance of pending liabilities.Stressing that ration dealers are the face of the department, the Minister said the government can’t implement its policies on ground without their active involvement.Later in the day, the Minister reviewed the progress on mega projects under execution in Kishtwar and interacted with the officers of the department in two separate meetings held at New DC Office Complex, Kishwtar.MLA Inderwal G.M Saroori, MLC Firdous Ahmed Tak, DDC Kishwtar Angrez Singh Rana, SSP Abrar Chowdhary and other officers of district administration were present in the meetings.The Deputy Commissioner, Kishtwar Angrez Singh Rana informed the Minister about the physical and financial status of the development projects under execution in the district.
While addressing the meeting, the Minister directed the officers to finish the pending works within a stipulated time frame and asked them to deliver their best in an accountable, fair and transparent manner.Related to development of tribal community, the Minister directed DC, Kishtwar to identify land for construction of Eklavya Residential Model School in the district and said that funds to the tune of Rs. 16 crore would be released for the construction of the same.He further asked the administration to identify 3-4 kanals of land in Kishtwar town for construction of Gujjar Girls Hostel and finish the work on Chatroo Gujjar Hostel by the end of March, 2018.He directed the Deputy Commissioner to prepare an Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP) covering all aspects related to basic amenities including education, healthcare, power, water supply and ration in the district.The Minister said that Rs. 1.27 crore would be released shortly for 10,000 biomass cooking stoves for distribution among tribal community and said that the quantum of ration would be increased by 50 per cent for the people living in Marwah, Dachhan and Padder.He also directed SSP Kishtwar to check the availability of food grains and its distribution in far flung areas of Marwah, Warwan, Dachhan and intimate DC from time to time so to keep a check on black marketing.