Dealers of over 20,000 fair price shops under the public distribution system (PDS) across Karnataka will get commission of Rs. 14 more per quintal for disbursing foodgrains to eligible beneficiaries.
A meeting of the State Cabinet, presided over by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, decided to hike the profit margin of PDS fair price shop dealers from Rs. 56 to Rs. 70 a quintal of foodgrains they distribute to below and above the poverty line families in the State. It was also decided to provide two gunny bags to the dealers to store items, said Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T.B. Jayachandra.
In the past, members of the Fair Price Dealers’ Association staged protests in districts seeking higher commission for the owner of the shops. The expense incurred by the fair price dealers, including rent paid for the building where the shops function and the wage to be paid towards the labour, had increased in the recent times, they said. The Cabinet also decided to attach 16 sugarcane-growing villages with the Yaragatti Sugars Pvt. Ltd. to be set up at Chandaragi in Ramdurg taluk of Belagavi district, for supply of sugarcane.
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It also decided to send N. Narayanaswamy, town planner, divisional office of the Joint Director of Town Planning, Bengaluru, on compulsory retirement on the recommendation of the Upalokayukta in connection with a graft case.