Ludhiana: Administrative delay in payment disbursement hits ration vendors
With the free wheat distribution for the July–September quarter already underway, depot holders say they are being forced to bear operational costs from their own pockets.
Echoing his concern, Gagandeep Singh, a local depot holder, said, 'We usually get our commission soon after the distribution ends. This payment helps cover unloading charges, labour, stationery, and electricity bills for the next distribution. But the department has not cleared our previous dues, leaving us to spend from our own pockets for the ongoing distribution.'
Karamjit Singh Arechha, national assistant secretary and state president of the All India Fair Price Shop Dealers Federation, called the situation unprecedented. 'We are asking for our own hard-earned money. The commission of ₹90 per quintal is already inadequate. On top of that, over two lakh beneficiaries in the district have been removed from the list for not completing eKYC, cutting into our already thin earnings,' he said.
For some, the delay is hitting harder. Manpreet Kaur, a widowed depot holder from Doraha, said, 'The commission is my household's only income. This is the festival season, and the delay has made it difficult for us to sustain.'
Meanwhile, officials from the district food and civil supplies department have attributed the delay to the introduction of a new central government payment module, 'Sparsh'. This requires uploading updated data of ration depot holders, including their email IDs and bank details. Since we are not well-versed with the intricacies of this new module and it has been plagued with glitches, the process has been delayed.
We will be submitting the bills for this quarter through 'Sparsh' to the state treasury department next week, which should facilitate the payments. Only after that will the situation regarding pending payments become clearer.
District food supplies controller (Ludhiana West) Sartaaj Singh Cheema said, 'We have raised the issue with higher authorities and are making efforts to clear the payments at the earliest.'
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