With several services, including voter identity cards, being linked to Aadhaar, the latest to join the list is ration cards.
By Nisha Nambiar
The Maharashtra government’s new directive to ensure a transparent and foolproof system of barcoded ration cards linked to Aadhaar cards is a step initiated to redesign the public distribution system. With nearly 18 lakh ration card holders in the district, around 2,800 fair price shops will ready themselves for this system, which aims to weed out bogus PDS beneficiaries.
“This is a special initiative to weed out bogus ration card holders. We will collate information of all card holders with the help of fair price shops and finally the system will be uploaded and then checked before the barcode is issued,’’ said District Supply Officer Jyoti Kadam. For Pune, the work has been initiated and the deadline for completion of work is May 31.
Last month, the state cabinet gave a green signal to redesign the public distribution system, clearing the process of biometric system for ration cards. The department will have to collect Aadhaar details, bank account details and cellphone numbers of all the members of the family, which will enable any family member to buy the ration using the card.
“This is a part of the Food Security Act to ensure a transparent system. Barcoding will eradicate bogus ration cards and bring transparency. For helping us collect data, fair price shops will get an incentive of Rs 5 per card,” said Kadam.
While the focus is on yellow and saffron ration cards, the district administration has urged even the white ration card holders to submit their details to their respective fair price shops so that all data can be linked.
This is as per the directive of the union government asking the state to submit information on various types of ration card holders, their Aadhaar numbers and bank accounts which will be interlinked to the National Payment Corporation of India’s portal to transfer the subsidy amount. Once the data is uploaded, the government can disburse the subsidy directly into bank accounts bypassing the existing system.
While the biometric system was introduced by the previous government on a pilot basis, it needed more time. Now, getting the fair price shops directly involved with a subsidy can help speed up the process. “Every shop owner has to collect data and submit it to the respective supply officer which will be further forwarded to the government and finally after confirmation the biometric card will be issued,’’ said administration officials.
Working towards women empowerment, the GR mentions the senior most woman’s name on the card as head of the family and other members as dependent on her. The officials maintain that this will ensure that foodgrain will be distributed to women only as the ration card will have their photograph and a barcode which will have women’s details. Aadhaar card number and thumb prints will be synchronised with the barcode