KOCHI: The Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited (Supplyco), once a friend to the common man, has now turned its back against him.The failure to provide essential commodities at subsidised rates coupled with mismanagement has landed the retail chain in chaos. Several officials with the dept admitted that the functioning of the organisation has gone awry, and needs an aggressive revamp to bring the flailing organisation back on track.The availability of the 13 subsidised essential commodities has become a thing of the past. “It has been months since the outlets received all of the subsidised items. Most of the times, the outlets receive just two out of the 13 items,” they said.The officials said that the people are not benefiting as the Corporation has now opted for a higher-margin policy shift.“Previously, Supplyco chose items with a margin of 15-16 per cent and the result was that people could avail them at a low price. But with the deviation from its policy, they are now procuring items with a margin of 25-30 per cent. This has completely defeated the purpose for which the Supplyco has been created,” they pointed out.The commodity supplies in Maveli stores were almost nil during the previous Vishu season. “The responsible authorities never sought the requirements of the outlets,” the official said. Thirty per cent of customers has reportedly abandoned Supplyco after it stopped the procurement of certain items.“The major Supplyco outlets used to total sales worth `1 lakh per month from certain brands like Nestle, Cadbury, and Procter and Gamble. It has been two years since these brands have been put on sale,” they said. “In the decentralised purchasing system, the sub-centres, depots and the like can procure the products. The corporation has cancelled the procurement proceedings with several companies, in the event of a non-lucrative deal. resulting in many companies backing out,” the spokesperson said.Anoop Jacob, Food and Civil Supplies Minister said that the Supplyco has been ailing as it has been without a head on many occasions.“I have asked A P M Muhammed Haneesh, who has been appointed as the ad-hoc managing director, to take stock of the situation at the earliest. Besides this, measures are being initiated to appoint a general manager for the Corporation,” he said.Muhammed Haneesh said that he has already taken charge to improve the retail chain. “I am doing my best for the smooth functioning of the Corporation,” he said. Trade unions stated their plans to resort to agitations if no steps are taken by authorities.
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