Imphal, September 26 2009: Chairman of the Central Vigilance Committee (CVC), Mr Justice DP Wadhwa, conducting public hearing on Public Distribution System (PDS) at Hotel Imphal today advised the authority to initiate steps for opening fair price shops exclusively for the women.

He was responding to the requests made by people during the public hearing.

A six-member team of the CVC led by Mr Justice DP Wadhwa is at present camping in Imphal.

During an interaction with media-persons at Hotel Imphal after the public hearing, Justice Wadhwa said that he had asked Commissioner of State Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, S Budha to take steps for opening of fair price shops exclusively for women in the state immediately.

He further told the officer that while opening the fair price shops for women, priority should be given to the Assembly constituencies where there are no fair price shops.

The CVC, constituted to look into the maladies that are affecting proper functioning of the PDS and also suggest remedial measures, arrived in Imphal as part of its tour in states for public hearing on the same matter.

The CVC is giving special focus on the mode of appointment of dealers, ideal rate of commission payable to the dealers, modalities as to how the Vigilance Committees already in place can function better and mode as how there can be transparency in allotment of the food stock to be sold at the shops.

The team will leave Imphal tomorrow concluding its three day visit in the state.

Today, after the public hearing at Imphal Hotel as continuation of the same hearing started from yesterday evening also inspected some fair price shops in Imphal West and East districts this afternoon.

In the public hearing started from 10 am for the day, card holders, consumers, members of Fair Price Shop Dealers' Association, NGOs, Women Self Help Groups and transporters and individuals put up their complaints.

They lodged compliant that they could not get the PDS items on time in most of the time apart from not getting exact quantity of the items against the monthly quotas for them.

Complaints of not getting sugar under the PDS items for a long time and less quantity of kerosene were put up in the hearing and requested the committee to look into the matter and arrange for proper and timely getting of the said items.

Mr Justice DP Wadhwa, a former Judge of the Supreme Court of India giving reason for their visit in the state, the committee is coming in the state to look into whether the rice and other items released by the Centre to the state under APL, BPL, AAY etc.

are actually reaching to the people and what are the complaints and suggestion of the consumers, card holders, fair price shop, dealers, NGOs, women bodies with regard to affective functioning of the PDS.

The committee had hold a meeting with the officials of the state government concerning with the distribution of the PDS items, he said adding from their observation, the committee came to know the problems facing by the state in procuring these items from the food corporation of India.

State officials has said that on time reaching of the PDS items in the state is greatly affected by the disturbances like prolong imposition of economic blockades, bandhs and other forms of strike on the National Highways which are the only means to reach goods to state from outside the state.

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