A Study on the Views of PDS Beneficiaries about the Quantity and Quality of Commodities, Supplied by the FPS in Haryana and Gujarat

Public Distribution System not only provides essential goods to the common man at a reasonable price, but it also enables the farmers to get a suitable price for their produce. The PDS, despite its much success, has over the years manifested a broad array of problems particularly with reference to its management. The extent and timing of procurement, poor forecasting capacity, antiquated logistical systems to support storage and delivery functions, inappropriate product mix, cost inefficiencies, poor quality food grain, harassment of consumers at the point of client interface and exclusion of large number of the poor from the system are some of the problems which hinder the effectiveness of the public distribution system. Keeping these perspectives in view, this paper analyses the views of PDS beneficiaries about the quantity and quality of commodities supplied by the fair price shops in Haryana and Gujarat.

The findings reveal a discouraging picture of the situation particularly with reference to the quantity and quality of food grains and other items supplied by the fair price shops to the PDS beneficiaries in Haryana and Gujarat. Beneficiaries have been denied supply of essential commodities on account of one or the other reasons. For example, rice was not supplied to more than 80.00% of the beneficiaries in the study area and the quality of rice supplied was also just normal according to 9.50% of the rural and 13.00% of the urban respondents. In case of wheat, close to 50.00% of the respondents were denied supply by the fair price shops in the study area and the quality of wheat was considered to be normal as per the views of 29.00% of the rural and 30.00% of the urban respondents. In general, the quality of essential commodities supplied by the fair price shops in the study areas was only normal and the state governments of Haryana and Gujarat should take initiatives to improve the supply to more number of PDS beneficiaries as well as to improve the quality of the essential commodities supplied by the fair price shops.