Mokokchung, 17 March (MTNews): For nearly four years, Fair Price Shop (FPS) dealers in Mokokchung district have been grappling with the non-reimbursement of transportation bills by the concerned authority causing significant hardships. In a press statement, Lanumeren, an FPS Dealer from Kumlong Ward, Mokokchung, highlighted the enduring challenges faced by FPS dealers despite their commitment to distributing rice under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) to ration card holders without missing out a single month till date.
Under the NFSA and PMGKAY schemes, FPS dealers are entrusted with the responsibility of transporting and dispensing rice to beneficiaries, with the expectation of government reimbursement for transportation and handling expenses on a quarterly basis. However, Lanumeren revealed that the government has failed to reimburse the pending bill incurred during the past forty- eight months i.e. transporting rice for 30 months (September 2021 – February 2024) under NFSA and 18 months under the PMGKAY scheme.
“On several occasions, the dealers have met with the concerned department officials to discuss the matter. However, except for verbal assurances, the government is yet to reimburse our bills,” stated Lanumeren.
Further, he explained that the dealers are arranging the transportation “out of their own pocket” and thus, delay in reimbursing the bills is causing untold hardships in ferrying the rice and distributing it to the beneficiaries.
Therefore, the FPS dealers of Mokokchung demanded the concerned authority to fully pay/reimburse the pending transportation bills without any deduction so that they can continue their service to the public without any hindrance.