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Reforms in PDS put on the back burner
Highlights
The ePoS (e-Point of Sale) intended for transparent Public Distribution System (PDS) in Telangana State, slated to be implemented from December, hit a road block with fair price shop (FPS) dealers rejecting it. They are demanding hike in incentive or compensation for adopting the methodology.
* The TS government intends to introduce e-Point of Sale or ePoS to curb pilferage in PDS
* There is resistance from dealers who insist on incentives before ushering in new methods
* A committee has been constituted to examine the demands of fair prices shopkeepers
Hyderabad: The ePoS (e-Point of Sale) intended for transparent Public Distribution System (PDS) in Telangana State, slated to be implemented from December, hit a road block with fair price shop (FPS) dealers rejecting it. They are demanding hike in incentive or compensation for adopting the methodology. Following the resistance put up by the FPS, the government has constituted a committee to look into the grievances of the dealers.
The ePoS is intended to curb pilferage in the public distribution system. It envisages recording of fingerprints of beneficiaries as well as dealers after linking the scheme to Aadhaar with the PDS.
There has been, however, resistance from the dealers to ePoS. The government took action against several dealers and cancelled not less than 10 lakh ration cards in the recent months. The ePoS was successfully adopted in Andhra Pradesh.
But the FPS dealers in Telangana State are not ready to introduction of the technology without paying compensation to them. “We have constituted a committee for examining their (dealers) demands, which include weighing of commodities at the fair price shop before distribution to beneficiaries.
The implementation of ePoS for now is put on hold. The NFSA (National Food Security Act) demands tight monitoring, hence we have to ensure that there is no loophole in distribution chain,” said the Commissioner of Civil Supplies and Ex-Officio Secretary Rajat Kumar. As per the government records till November 21, there are 5,72,931 Antyodaya Anna Yojna (AAY) cards, while Priority Household (PHH) cards are 84,61,796 and Annapurna cards (AAP) are 4,393. Total number of units recorded were 15, 43,805 (AAY), 270,04,808 (PHH) and 4,606 (AAP).
The bill which has proposed to offer incentive of Rs 10,000 for more than 500 cards is yet to be passed. The dealers also point out that the time earmarked for distribution of commodities through fair prices shops has been doubled. With it, overheads have increased.
“The pilferage, which was described by Krishna district Collector Ahmed Babu, has been curbed now after the new system was introduced,” according to D Oruganti, Project in-charge, Integra, the company which supplied the machines.
Md Nizamuddin
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