Profile

Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Punjab was set up in 1942 at Lahore to take care of food scarcities during the second world war. State trading in food grains was introduced in the year 1956 and the main office of the department was shifted to Chandigarh.

 Among the major functions of the department are:

v  Procurement, storage and transportation of food grains.

v  Distribution of essential commodities to the economically weaker sections through the public distribution system

v   .Management and control of essential commodities in times of scarcity and natural disasters.

v  Protection of consumer rights in conjunction with the consumer courts.

v  Ensuring correct weights and measures of consumer goods.

The Department makes arrangements to procure wheat and paddy at the minimum support prices fixed by the government of India for the central and state pool. The purchased stocks are stored and their health maintained till they are transported to their final destinations.

In times of shortage of essential commodities the Department steps in to control and stabilize the prices through various steps and also maintains the supply line.

The Department plays a nodal role in cooperating and regulating the procurement and rice milling functions and of various procurement agencies of the state i.e. Markfed, Punsup, Punjab State Warehousing Corporation, Punjab Agro Food Corporation and Food Corporation of India.