Ration dealer commission rise of 10 paise per kg criticised by All India Fair Price Shop Dealers Federation

The All India Fair Price Shop Dealers Federation on Wednesday criticised a reported Cabinet move to raise ration dealers’ commission by only 10 paise per kg. The Federation said the change did not cover basic operating costs. The government had not confirmed the decision. The Federation said this was the first revision since April 2022.

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According to the Federation, the Cabinet approved a hike in general category states from 90 paise to Re 1 per kg. For hilly states, it said the rate moved from Rs 1.80 to Rs 1.95 per kg. The Federation said it learnt this without official communication and called the increase insufficient.

Fair price shop dealers margin hike and federation reaction

"This paltry increase -- arriving after a long wait of four years -- serves as a cruel mockery of the 5.5 lakh ration dealers across the country, along with their employees and families,\" All India Fair Price Shop Dealers Federation General Secretary Biswambhar Basu said. Basu said dealers faced rising expenses and needed a larger margin to run shops.

The Federation linked the development to a World Food Programme survey that followed a 13-day nationwide agitation in 2020. The Federation said the protest took place at the behest of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. It said the survey had recommended a minimum commission of Rs 10 per kg for dealers.

World Food Programme survey on fair price shop dealers commission

The survey suggested different commission levels based on shop size and the number of ration cards. It proposed Rs 2.28 per kg for large shops, Rs 4.57 for medium-sized outlets, and Rs 9 for small ration shops. The Federation said these rates reflected the varied costs dealers faced across shop categories.

\"Regrettably, the recommendations of this survey -- conducted by an independent organisation appointed by the central government itself -- have yet to be implemented to this day,\" Basu said. The Federation said it viewed the fresh revision as falling far short of those proposed amounts.

The Federation said it would hold a meeting next week to discuss its next steps. It did not give details of possible actions. The group said it would review the reported commission change and consider options based on members’ feedback and shop-level expenses across states.

With inputs from PTI