Food security activists in Jharkhand feel that mere suspension or cancellation of the licence of the public distribution system (PDS) dealers, who have been found indulging in irregularities in the distribution of food grains, is in itself a violation of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) provision.

The food supply and consumer affairs department, on the instruction of chief minister Hemant Soren, conducted surprise inspections at over 1,400 PDS shops across Jharkhand on Sunday.

At least 20 ration dealers were suspended and the licences of 17 shops were cancelled after irregularities were detected in the distribution of food grains, an official statement said.

As many as 202 PDS dealers were also served a showcause notice by the authorities concerned as part of the surprise check. Jharkhand Right to Food campaign convener Asharfi Nand Prasad, however, felt that suspension or cancellation of the licence would hardly matter much for the errant dealers.

“We have been tweeting and also writing to the chief minister and departmental minister (food supply and consumer affairs minister Rameshwar Oraon) about irregularities in the distribution of food grains by the dealers in connivance with the government officers. The chief minister took action but cancellation or suspension of the licence would not have much impact on the thickskinned violators. In fact, the government measures are in itself a violation of the NFSA provisions,” Prasad told The Telegraph.

The food security activist, who was a member of the panel to define “hunger death” in 2018, said: “Section 8 of the NFSA clearly states that beneficiaries who have been deprived of food grains should get compensation as per government norms for the period of ration denied.

According to Section 33, the accused dealers should be fined Rs 5,000 apart from other measures. If the fine is not paid, an FIR should be lodged against the dealers.”

According to a statement issued by the chief minister’s secretariat on Sunday night, the officials closely examined ration cards, food distribution, grain lifting each month, number of card holders, stock, tally register and official documents during the inspection.

Instructions were also issued to most of the PDS vendors regarding food grain storage management, inventory management, timely delivery of supplies, and proper display of information related to the concerned vigilance panels. Jharkhand food commissioner Himanshu Shekhar Choudhary was optimistic at the surprise inspections.

“I would only say that a beginning has been made in terms of cracking down on violators. It would send a message to the violators not to indulge in malpractices. Natural justice also demands that before taking action, any person needs to be given an opportunity to be heard and that is why they have been showcaused,” said Choudhary.

The statement of the chief minister’s secretariat said there were complaints against 25,000 PDS shops operating in the state that the ration materials were not distributed among the beneficiaries according to the quantity allotted by the government.

“There were also complaints that shopkeepers were not displaying their licence number, name and address of the licensee, opening and closing time of the shop, the number of different categories of cardholders, quantity and rate of ration for different categories of cardholders and the distribution of the stock on the information board at the prominent place of the shop,” the statement said.