Bihar to supply coal via PDS to 21 million ration card holders amid LPG supply concerns
The scheme will cover around 21 million ration card holders, benefiting an estimated 85.1 million people under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), officials said on Wednesday.
The move, spearheaded by the state's food and consumer protection department, seeks to offer an alternative cooking fuel, particularly in rural areas where LPG availability has been affected. Coal will be supplied through the existing network of 52,055 fair price shops across the state, ensuring ease of access and continuity.
"We will make coal available as an alternate source of fuel to all ration card holders through our PDS outlets, given the domestic LPG concerns, especially in rural areas," said Abhay Kumar Singh, secretary of the department.
In the initial phase, the government plans to provide up to 100 kg of coal per ration card per month. "Since it is a demand-driven initiative, we will assess the requirement and increase the household quota if demand rises," Singh added.
However, officials indicated that it may take over a month before coal becomes available at PDS outlets, as the government is still working out logistics, including landing and transportation costs from coal pitheads to fair price shops.
The Bihar State Mining Corporation Limited has been designated as the nodal agency to procure and lift coal from Coal India Limited, while the transport department will determine the cost of moving coal to distribution points. Based on these inputs, district-level task forces headed by district magistrates will finalise the per kilogram price for beneficiaries.
"The cost of coal will vary depending on the distance of PDS outlets from the coal pitheads," Singh said.
To streamline distribution, the food and consumer protection department will integrate coal supply into the existing e-POS (electronic point of sale) system, enabling beneficiaries to access coal using biometric authentication.
Officials said the initiative also addresses structural issues in LPG access, including the mandatory 45-day lock-in period between cylinder refills in rural areas.
Bihar currently faces an average LPG refill backlog of 4.86 days. At least 12 of the state's 38 districts report delays exceeding five days, including Rohtas (5.93 days), Madhubani (5.68 days), Muzaffarpur (5.39 days), Gopalganj (5.35 days), Samastipur (5.23 days) Darbhanga (5.27 days), Bhojpur and Aurangabad (5.11 days each), among others.
The proposal to distribute coal through PDS outlets was first mooted during a crisis management group meeting chaired by chief secretary Pratyaya Amrit on March 30, and was subsequently formalised in discussions led by development commissioner Mihir Singh.
Abhay Kumar Singh wrote to the secretaries of the mines and geology and transport departments on Tuesday to operationalise the plan, marking a coordinated inter-departmental effort to roll out the scheme.
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