Reservation in allotment of fair price shops approved in Bihar

Decks have been cleared for reservation for different communities in allotment of fair price shops in Bihar as state government amended the rules.
Reservation would be given to Scheduled Caste (16 per cent), Scheduled Tribe (one per cent), Most Backward Class (18 per cent), Backward Class (12 per cent) and Women Backward Class (three per cent) in allotment of fair price shops, Food and Consumer Protection Department Joint Secretary Lalan Prasad Singh said in a release.
A section (IV) in sub-para 2.1 of para two was inserted in the Public Distribution System (Control), Amendment Order-2011, to provide for the reservation.

The reservation criteria would be applicable at the sub-divisional level in allotment of fair price shops to different communities under para 2.2 which was inserted in the para 2 of the PDS (Control) Amendment Order, he said.
Sub-para 2.3 was inserted for giving priority to the beneficiaries in allotment of fair price shops, excluding compassionate cases.
A sub-para 2.4 was inserted in para 3 to specify that priority for issuance/new licences would be given to self-help groups, gram panchayat, co-operative society, women / co-operative society run by women, ex-army co-operative societies, handicapped and educated unemployed in allotment of fair price shops, Singh said.

A sub-para 2.7 was incorporated in para 5 to make it clear that compliance of population and reservation criteria were necessary in process of allotting shops, he added.
State Food and Consumer Protection Minister Shyam Rajak had last month announced the decision to provide reservation in allotment of fair price shops to different communities.