FP dealers ready to collect power bills

They want the govt. to consider the proposal, issue directive to this effect. The proposal was aiming at doing away with overheads such as payment of commission to agents and maintenance costs, so as to bring down the cost of products. The fair price shops could also be used for supply of 5-kg LPG cylinders to poor households.

Fair price shop dealers in the State have volunteered to take up the responsibilities of collecting power bills, disburse pensions to eligible beneficiaries and also to take part in distribution of wage under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme.

The gesture comes in the light of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu agreeing, in principle, to expand the activities of the fair price shops for delivering effective services at the grassroots level. There are nearly 27,000 fair price shops in the State, of these around 2,700 are operating in Krishna district.

Thanking the Chief Minister for the initiative, National Production-cum-Distribution Scheme Dealers Welfare Federation of AP leaders said that they were ready to discharge the responsibilities, if the government issued allowed them to collect user charges for the services offered.

“With the vast network of FP shops covering every nook and corner of the State, implementation of social welfare schemes will be more effective,” they said.

Federation general secretary Divi Leela Madhava Rao wanted the government to study the Tamil Nadu model wherein, the government was mulling upgrading fair price shops into mini super bazaars. Accordingly, steps would be taken to procure products from manufacturers directly and supplied to consumers at lesser price, they observed.

The proposal was aiming at doing away with overheads such as payment of commission to agents and maintenance costs, so as to bring down the cost of products. The fair price shops could also be used for supply of 5-kg LPG cylinders to poor households.

The move would be beneficial in the light of introduction of direct benefit transfer scheme wherein, subsidies would be directly credited to the beneficiaries’ accounts. Moreover, reduction in the cylinder size would bring down the payment burden on consumers as they could pay less for getting cylinders than the amount they paid to the agencies.

Inadequate wage

The federation leaders also appealed to the government to consider payment of salary to fair price shop owners as the income generated through commission was adequate. “Our monthly commission is about Rs. 2,500 to Rs. 3,000, while outlet owners have to pay a rent of Rs. 4,000 for the shop in cities,” said P.V. Ganesh, president of Krishna district unit of the federation.