Thiruvananthapuram: Packaging of items in free food kits supplied through ration shops cost the State Civil Supplies Corporation (Supplyco) Rs.1.40 per kit till last April and Rs.1.65 thereafter.
According to an RTI reply, an amount of Rs.16.03 crore has been spent for packing the items in the free food kits.
As per the estimate, a total of 10.99 crore kits were supplied in a total 13 rounds.
Rs.11.80 crore was spent for the distribution. For distributing the kit during Onam, an amount of Rs.4.23 crore was spent.
For filling the packed items in the cloth bags, the government had spent Rs.1.40 per kit. From last May, it was hiked to Rs 2 per kit. So, the total cost of packing was estimated to be Rs.18.96 crore. The amount given for purchasing cloth bags was Rs.6.50 to Rs.13 per bag. The total amount for purchasing cloth bags was Rs.107.18 crore.
The travel expenses incurred for supply of food kits to ration shops was Rs. 1.80 per bag. The total cost was Rs.19.78 crore.
For loading and unloading food kits, Rs. 6 each has been spent for one kit. The total amount spent in this regard was Rs. 131.91 crore.
The RTI reply was given by Supplyco Kozhikode depot manager to a set of query raised by All Kerala Retail Ration Dealers Association State general secretary T. Muhammed Ali.
But the retail ration dealers were given commission only two times for distribution of free kits, that too in the beginning stage.
