‘IT has reduced the scope of corruption to a great extent’

Commissioner for Consumer Affairs, Food and Civil Supplies discusses the positive changes he brought about during his stint.

From bringing in IT interventions in the civil supplies department and plugging leaks in the distribution of fair price commodities to the massive changes in the consumer affairs landscape, Consumer Affairs, Food and Civil Supplies Commissioner C.V. Anand’s initiatives have increased efficiency while saving on cost. And as his stint draws to a close, Mr. Anand, in a free-wheeling interview, talks about good governance, the age of consumer activism and what the government should do to be more consumer-friendly. 

Excerpts:

How has IT helped to plug leaks in the department?

Information Technology has helped reduce the scope of corruption to a great extent. For a long time, officers had been colluding with rice millers and Fair Price Shops owners. For example, there was delay in farmers getting paid for paddy and it even went up to 30 days to 60 days. The Minimum Support Price of around Rs 1,400 was not given fully. And when the cheques came, they had to add ‘weight’ (bribe officials) to get them. In consultation with the Centre for Good Governance, IT initiatives are firmly in place and payments are upfront. Even in remotest areas, payments are getting credited in the farmer’s bank accounts. Rs 11 lakh crore was paid so far, 80% of which was within three days.

How have you tackled the transporter-dealer-miller nexus?

There are 1,400 trucks transporting rice. We installed 1,750 CCTVs in 171 godowns, GPS systems in trucks and geo-fenced routes. Previously, about 20% of rice was not taken by the cardholders. So the equivalent was not unloaded from trucks and sold off later at ports and in other States. The command control centre here and in districts keeps a watch on every vantage point 24x7.

The gunny bags re-use seems to be an issue. What is your take on it?

Instead of the 38% depreciation charges with each use and their eventual auction, the Centre is saying that there will be charges of Rs 6.30 per use. Last rabi season, analysis revealed that the problems persisted for years and it continued this season too. Procured paddy was not being taken away. Then we found out that gunny bags from Kolkata had not arrived. There was immense cost and effort. Now, by engaging road transport, we have reduced the effort as the truck brings bags to the PPC (paddy procurement centres) directly. Per bale (500 bags) cost has been reduced from 1,600 to 1,050.

What are the efforts towards a kerosene-free State?

Approximately 65% of the ration card holders have got LPG connections in the State. For the next financial year, the Centre’s Ujwala scheme will have an allocation of 10 lakh connections for us. We have taken this seriously.

Consumer fora functioning is slow and some posts are still vacant. What should be done to bridge this gap?

It is best to have a separate Consumer Affairs Department. We made the suggestion in one of the meetings with the Centre and it is recorded in the minutes of the meeting. There has been a sea change in consumer affairs and activism over the years.