DBT cash not enough to buy grains: Survey

NEW DELHI: Women in Chandigarh hold 97% of the bank accounts meant for direct cash transfer ( DBT) for subsidized foodgrain to the poor while in Puducherry, it’s only 40%, according to a survey conducted by the Central government.

Chandigarh and Puducherry are the only two urban areas where the government rolled out the DBT pilot projects in September for subsidised grains under the National Food Security Act. Dadra and Nagar Haveli will be next. DBT is possible only in areas where 100% identified beneficiary families have bank accounts, linked to Aadhaar. The food ministry has now suggested states to consider rolling out DBT in urban areas where most of the households hold bank accounts.

Sources said the overall benefits of DBT have been total plugging of leakage and no dependence of beneficiaries on the fair price shop owners to get foodgrain which they can choose where to buy from.

But the survey has thrown up interesting findings such as 70% of beneficiaries in Chandigarh and 88% in Puducherry saying that the amount credited to their accounts is not enough to buy 5 kg of foodgrain per family member, which they are entitled to under the food security scheme. “This could be because once people get cash, they would prefer to buy the foodgrain of their choice whereas earlier they had no option than taking what was supplied to them,” said a government official.

Another interesting observation was that 70% of respondents in Puducherry said foodgrain (largely rice) provided under PDS was better while 36% of the respondents in Chandigarh felt the same in case of wheat, the preferred grain.