Imphal, May 16: While asserting that rising price of essential commodities in Manipur is an outcome of the restriction imposed by the undergrounds on the transportation of these commodities from outside the State by the Non-Manipuri stockist agents, FCS Minister Y Erabot has explained that FCS Department has no control over the rising price of essential commodities.

Talking to some newsmen at his office chamber at State Secretariat here this afternoon, Erabot said that FCS Department is only responsible for ensuring distribution of PDS items like BPL, AAY and APL rice, sugar, kerosene to the people at the price fixed by the Government of India.

So there is no question of FCS taking over any of essential commodities and controlling their price, though efforts are being made to take control over goods like Pamoline and Soyabean soil, coal, steel and iron materials by the FCS.

The State Level Price Fixation Committee which used to be there earlier to control the price is not functioning properly and nothing is known about the functioning of the State Level Price Monitoring Committee set up under the Agriculture Department, the Minister said, reiterating that the duty of the FCS Department is to distribute he essential commodities provided by the Government of India and not to control their prices.

In connection with Kerosene, the Minister informed that the Kerosene quota allotted by the Government of India to Manipur is on the basis of the census figure of 2001.At that time, each household was entitled to 4 litres of kerosene but after each of these households have been fragmented into four nucleus families and in the absence of any new revision of the quota by the Government of India, people are today facing some problem in getting their share of the kerosene oil, the Minister maintained.

While arrangements are being made to hire the BE OH Pump at North AOC by the Government for the purpose of distribution of Kerosene oil to the people, UG$ have threatened with the demand for providing them 25 percent of the Kerosene quota, the Minister said, adding that as a result of the UG threat he himself had to stay on guard during emptying of the oil tanker at the said oil pump.

The some of the UG groups are also reportedly deducting their share of the Kerosene from some oil^pumps and the Government would take up necessary measures to stop this, the Minister assured.

The Minister further informed that as the existing 46 FCS godowns located in different parts of the State are not enough for storing 26 matric tonne of rice, efforts are also being made to construction some more new godowns.

It may be noted here that Chief Secretary Jarnail Singh on May 3 had issued an order directing the FCS Department to find out whether PDS control system allows the arrangement of handling rice by MLAs.

As PDS distribution system is governed by the guidelines of the Government of India, violation of these will attract penal action, the order noted.

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