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Ludhiana: HC rebuke spurs dist food dept to lift ration depot suspensions
The court directed the officials that the impugned suspension orders must be withdrawn and fresh orders should be issued strictly in accordance with the TPDS Licensing and Control Order, 2016
After the Punjab and Haryana High Court pulled up the district food and civil supplies department for suspending the licences and supply of essential commodities of ration depot holders without following proper procedures, officials have finally swung into the action to revoke such arbitrary suspensions and take corrective measures across the district.
On August 13, the Punjab and Haryana High Court, while hearing a petition filed by Pankaj Kapoor, a ration depot holder from Ludhiana had questioned the manner in which the food and civil supplies department had suspended his licence without following proper procedure.
The department had reportedly issued a show cause notice to Kapoor, temporarily suspending his licence. However, under Clause 15 of the Punjab Targeted Public Distribution System (Licensing and Control) Order, 2016, if a licence is suspended without giving the depot holder an opportunity of hearing, the suspension can last only up to 90 days. But in Kapoor’s case, the order did not mention any duration, rendering the show cause notice an empty formality and indicating that the suspension had been issued without citing the proper legal provisions, the court observed.
The court further directed the officials that the impugned suspension orders must be withdrawn and fresh orders should be issued strictly in accordance with the TPDS Licensing and Control Order, 2016, after giving the affected licence holders a proper opportunity of hearing.
HC flags training gaps; officials to undergo fresh orientation
The high court also stressed the need for better training of field officers, noting repeated lapses in following statutory procedures.
Responding to this, Anjuman Bhaskar, additional director of food, civil supplies and consumer affairs, confirmed that all officers concerned across state will now undergo fresh, focused training on handling complaints and issuing orders in line with the TPDS Licensing and Control Order, 2016.
A senior official in the department said, “Following the high court’s orders, we have revoked the suspended supplies of errant ration depot holders from the past two years across the district. In Ludhiana West alone, around five such restorations have been carried out.”
He further added that since many officials were not well versed with the statutory provisions, the department has temporarily restored the suspended supplies that are currently under review. “Fresh decisions will be taken after giving each depot holder a proper opportunity of hearing,” he said.
Meanwhile, ration depot holders claimed that despite these assurances, many of them are still awaiting restoration of their supplies.
Roshan Lal, state president of the NFSA (National Food Security Act) Depot Holders Welfare Association, said, “Although the department is claiming that they have revoked the suspensions, several cases are still pending for relief.”
Highlighting one such case, he pointed to Rohit Kumar, a ration depot holder from Jogimajra village in Payal (Ludhiana East). Kumar’s supply has remained suspended since March after he was accused of issuing ration slips from a nearby medical store instead of his designated depot. Despite repeatedly approaching the department for clarification and restoration after high court order, his case continues to remain pending, he added.
