Mamata government announces slew of relief measures for Darjeeling residents
Now, the state government has decided to provide all the pending rations to Darjeeling residents who could not receive it due to the agitations.
In Short
- Darjeeling residents can avail pending PDS food grains from ration stores at one go.
- Many could not collect ration between June and September due to agitation.
- Govt officials, who attended office during the agitation, will get an extra 15 days special leave.
During the agitation in the hills, mainly between June and September the residents were unable to access food grains from ration shops as they were closed due to the violence. Now, the state government has decided to provide all the pending rations at a single go to the residents.
According to sources, the initiative was taken up at the behest of the West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. Food Minister Jyotipriya Mullick said that the CM had asked the concerned departments to act in this direction sometime ago.
According to norms, PDS food grains must be accessed within the month, any delay leads to a lapse. However, the CM had asked her ministers and officers to ensure that the hill dwellers do not suffer either because of the rules or of an event that was beyond their control.
The hill dwellers usually draw double the amount of PDS food grains than the residents of plain areas -- a total of 11-kg per person, per month, at Rs 2 a kilo. That basically translates to about a quintal or more food grains for a family of four. There are no godowns in the hills and this creates a logistical problem for the department.
Meanwhile, some critics are reading politics in the move.
Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat has a BJP MP, which it had won with the support of the now discredited Morcha (GMM). Since the removal of Gurung, the winds of change are favouring the Trinamool, probably that is the reason why fund allocations for the newly formed GTA have shot up.
The state government has also decided to waive off any late fees or fines arising out of non-payment of taxes and duties during the agitation. State government officials, who attended office during the agitation in the hills, will get an extra 15 days special leave. While employees, who were absent during this period, will also have their full salary and special leave credited to them.
The government is taking up the distribution of digital ration cards in the hills on priority. Interestingly, digitisation of ration cards have actually led to a drop in the number of valid cardholders in the hills -- from 8.75 lakh to 8.19 lakh -- however, the state government have not cut down on the food grain allocation of the area.
The food minister says that a massive drive will be undertaken to create awareness of the government initiatives amongst the hill people and stringent checks will be in place to ensure that food grains reach the card holders and distributors are not able to siphon it off.