CITIZEN'S CHARTER

Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department

1)  Procedure for opening a new Fair Price Shop or part-time shop

In spite of opening of full time Fair price Shops, part-time Fair Price Shops, mobile shops and sub-retail outlets run by women groups, representations were received from various corners of the State requesting for the opening of more and more new Fair price shops. Appreciating the difficulties experienced by the general public in getting essential commodities at the Fair price Shops and also to facilitate easy accessibility of food grains at the door steps of the consumers, the Government have re fixed the existing norms for opening of Fair price Shops and have issued the following guidelines:-

i) No existing shop should be closed.

ii) In the Municipal Corporations and Municipalities, the existing fair price shops may be reorganized in such a way that no shop will have more than 1000 cards or less than 800 cards subject to above. While doing so, it may ensured that there is atleast one shop in every ward.

iii) In rural areas shops having more than 800 cards may be reorganized in such a way that no shop will have less than 500 cards and more than 800 cards subject to (i) above.

iv) While reorganizing the shops in the above manner it should be ensured that no cardholder is required to travel more than 2 Kilo metres to reach the fair price shop.

v) The District Collectors will be empowered to open new shops based on the above guidelines. The number of new shops opened should be intimated to the Commissioner of Civil Supplies and consumer Protection every month.

vi) In case the above guidelines are not satisfied and the opening of new shops becomes absolutely necessary the District Collectors should approach the Registrar of Cooperative Societies or the Commissioner of Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection as the case may be and get their prior concurrence before opening the new shops.

vii) In tribal areas and in communally sensitive areas where law and order situation warrants opening of new fair price shops the District Collector may do so depending on exigencies using his discretion.

viii) As regards opening of retail outlets by women's group functioning under the Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women or under the scheme for Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA). The mobile shops also will continue to serve hilly areas etc., as before.

2) (a) Procedure for getting new family cards

New application form requesting for the issue of new family card has been prescribed. One who want to apply for the issue of new family card has to obtain this application form from the card issuing authority, namely Assistant Commissioner in Chennai City and its belt area and from the Taluk Supply Officers in all other districts. The applicant has to fill up the application with all the correct and true particulars in the relevant columns and handover the application form affixing a Black and White photo of the head of the family to the card issuing authorities. The authorities will get the filled in application and issue an acknowledgement to the applicant. The time prescribed for the issue of new family card is 12 months. The new family card will be issued only after Door Verification in eligible cases.

2) (b) The procedure for making addition/deletions in the cards

The family cardholder who wants deletion or addition of family members in his card has to give a requisition to the card issuing authority along with a copy of Birth Certificate if the name of his child has to be included or with a copy of Death Certificate if he wants deletion of any member of the family. For other additions, he has to enclose a copy of Deletion Certificate for that person whose name has to be included to his card.

The time limit for making additions or deletions in the cards will be one week from the date of receipt of such requisitions. The details of additions or deletions will made at the appropriate place provided in the family card.

(iii) The Procedure to seek redressal of the grievances The grievances of the Consumers will be of two types, namely delay in the issue of new family card or delay in making any changes in the existing family card and complaints against the Fair Price Shops.  In case of grievances of the first type, the consumer has to give a complaint to the concerned card issuing authority and get his grievance redressed.

(iv) Procedure to get information about the functioning of Fair Price Shop introduced recently to make PDS functioning transparent

To ensure transparency in the Fair Price Shops level, the Government have issued orders directing all the fair price shops in the State to display the following information prominently in the shops:-

a) Number of cards, category-wise attached to the shop;

b) Hours of working

c) Scales of supply

d) Allotment for the month

e) Liftment commodity-wise

f) Stock on hand of the commodities with price and

g) Name of the kerosene dealer

In addition to the above, the Fair Price Shops have been directed to display prominently at the entrance of each fair price shop, the Telephone number of the District Supply Officer/ Taluk Supply Officer and Deputy Register of Cooperative Societies (PDS). The Inspecting Officers have been instructed to make a specific mention about this in their Inspection Reports.  In order to ensure more transparency in Public Distribution System, all the District Collectors have been directed to give a press release every month indicating the allotment of various commodities made for public Distribution System. They have also been requested to give the names of Kerosene wholesalers and the quantum of allotment given to each wholesalers. This information will be made available to all the District Panchayats and panchayat Union by the District Supply officer of the district concerned. Details of allotment made to the shops will be made available by the Collectors to all the elected representatives of the area concerned namely MPS., MLAS. District Panchayat Presidents and members etc., The District Collectors have been directed to arrange for the publication in the local Tamil Newspaper having wide circulation in their area, shop-wise details of the allotment made of different commodities and their off-take during the month. This will be done for one taluk at a time and will be done on a continuous basis.

The Government have taken a decision to supply copies of `A' Register at the rate of Re.1/- per page and if the entire `A' register Book is sought for it will be supplied contains more than 100 pages. Any Consumer organization which is interested in the proper functioning of Fair price Shops can take advantaged of this and help the Consumer's cause.

DEPUTY SECRETARY TO GOVT.