Crackdown against 12 PDS dealers in Simdega

TNN | Apr 28, 2020, 05:00 IST

Gumla: The Simdega administration fined 12 ration dealers and also filed FIRs against them on Sunday for irregularities in distribution of ration. The steps were taken after it came to light that these PDS dealers were not providing two months’ advance ration to the poor.
The district authorities said they have also passed orders to suspend or cancel the licences of some of the shops. Notably, of the 12 erring shops, nine were run by women self-help groups.
Simdega additional collector-cum-district supply officer Amrendra Kumar Sinha said, “Fines have been calculated based on the market price of the quantity of rice that was not distributed among the beneficiaries. The fines range between Rs 15,000 to Rs 1 lakh. Of the 12 dealers, licences of two have been suspended and one cancelled.”
He added that they have been receiving complaints against the shops for sometime and action was taken only after a thorough probe.
Notably, deputy commissioner Mrityunjay Barnwal has deputed two executive magistrates to keep a tab on the activities of all PDS dealers in the district during the nationwide lockdown.