SPCC demands withdrawal of notification imposing supervision charges for transportation of FCI food-grains

GANGTOK, 09 March: Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee has demanded the immediate withdrawal of a recent Transport Department notification imposing supervision charges for transportation of FCI food-grains from Siliguri to FCI food depots at Rangpo and Jorethang.The notification reportedly issued on 04 March, imposes supervision charge at the rate of Rs 0.50 per MT/KM for transportation of FCI food grains from Siliguri to Rangpo and Jorethang FCI depots. An SPCC press release issued by its spokesperson, Kunga Nima Lepcha alleges that the notification is anti-people as it has directly taxed the common people, especially BPL families, and the department should “stop causing unnecessary financial burden on the poor people of Sikkim”.The party has also maintained that the state was already getting more than sufficient budgetary allocation to meet its requirement and the people are already burdened by inflation. The release adds that the food grains lifted from FCI godowns to the FCI depots in the state are PDS items to distribute to the people under various schemes.It further alleged that the Transport Department cannot justify its action on imposing such supervision charges even on the private trucks as “no supervision whatsoever is rendered for transport from Siliguri to Sikkim”.