60.1 Importance of ration card shops
Ration card shops started in India after 1942 famine of Bengal. Ration card system is the main reason why hunger death stopped in India . After 1991, the system has been steadily weakening.
Many paid-economists call for abolition of ration card system. They support cash pay outs. This is bad idea, because, ration card system also gives stability to farmers by purchasing their surplus grains in good season, and thus protecting them against drastic fall in price in a good season. If ration system is weakened, the it will create instability over farmers and they will be forced to sell lands to big farming corporations. This will create oligopolies and later price rise
60.2 Drafts I propose to improve Ration Card System
1. Right to Recall Civil Supply Minister and Right to Recall District Supply Officer will reduce corruption in Ration Card department. The draft will be similar o Right to recall District Education Officer given section-30.2
2. Using TCP citizens should enact a procedure by which citizens change ration card shop any day, so that leakage at ration card shop level reduces and his service improves
3. Complete computerization of all records in civil supply dept and putting the records on net
4. Integrating ration card shops with end users via SMS
5. Banning use of human edible grains for animal feeding
6. Selling cow milk at subsidized rate via ration card shops (desi cow milk of about 100 ml per person per day will bought at cost plus 7% profits and will be sold at 50% less price via ration card shops)
7. Enabling ration card shop owner to deliver food and milk at home for cost. The end user will pay cost in cash or kind.
60.3 What can YOU do to improve ration card delivery in India?
Please read chap-13 of this book http://rahulmehta.com/301.htm . It has several steps where-in you can spend 6 hours a week and help to bring TCP draft in Gazette in India. The steps involve distributing pamphlets, informing citizens on motives of leaders such as Congress MPs, BJP MPs, The Anna etc who oppose TCP draft, by giving newspaper ads and contesting elections. Once TCP gets printed in Gazette, using TCP, it will become easy for activists to get citizens’ opinion law-drafts necessary to improve ration card system. Once law-drafts such as Right to Recall Civil Supply Minister, RTR District Supply Officer etc get printed in the Gazette, the ration card system will improve. With this, poverty will further reduce, nutrition will improve and total farm production will also improve.