Bihar Govt to conduct social audit of PDS

Bihar government will carry out a social audit of the Public Distribution System (PDS) to gauge effective implementation of the Right to Food Act, 2013 in the state, an official today said.
In the backdrop of the Right to Food Act, 2013, the state government has approved a proposal to get a social audit of PDS done through impartial, effective and transparent manner by an agency, the Social Audit Society, under the Rural Development department, Principal Secretary (Cabinet Secretariat) Brajesh Mehrotra told reporters after the cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Bihar was the first state to implement the Right to Food Act on February 1, 2014, but there have been questions over effective implementation of the law.

A staggering 84 per cent population in rural areas and 74 per cent in urban areas of Bihar fall under the BPL category and are eligible for benefits under the Right to Food Act, 2013.
The state government approved 14 proposals in all at the cabinet meeting, Mehrotra said.
Among other decisions, the cabinet approved a proposal for amendment in the service rules of regional clerical grade employees in the Water Resources department under which a fourth grade employee must pass intermediate, instead of matriculation to be eligible for promotion, the Principal Secretary said.