Ration Dealers Criticize Insufficient Margin Increase

The All India Fair Price Shop Dealers' Federation criticized the government's decision to increase dealer commissions by only 10 paise per kg, calling it insufficient to cover costs. This increase is the first since April 2022, but falls short of survey recommendations from 2020.

The decision by the government to raise the margins for fair price shop dealers by merely 10 paise per kilogram has been met with criticism from the All India Fair Price Shop Dealers' Federation. The Federation has labeled this increment as 'wholly inadequate' for addressing the expenses being faced by dealers and their employees.

Although official confirmation from the government remains absent, the Federation reported the Cabinet's approval of this rate increase from 90 paise to Re 1 per kg for general category states, and from Rs 1.80 to Rs 1.95 per kg for hilly states. This adjustment marks the first change since April 2022. Biswambhar Basu, the Federation's General Secretary, expressed that this slight increase appears as a 'cruel mockery' to the 5.5 lakh ration dealers throughout India.

Background to this decision includes a World Food Programme survey, initiated after a 13-day nationwide protest by ration dealers in 2020, which was commissioned by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The survey had suggested a minimum commission of Rs 10 per kg. It had also recommended different rates based on shop size: Rs 2.28 for large, Rs 4.57 for medium, and Rs 9 for small outlets, according to the number of ration cards linked to each store.

Basu expressed disappointment, stating, 'Regrettably, the recommendations of this survey, conducted by an independent organization appointed by the central government itself, have yet to be implemented.' The Federation plans to convene next week to discuss future actions.