“The department of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution has become the first fully digitized department in the state and information about 12542000 entries of the beneficiaries is hosted on the web portal of the department “.This was informed by the Minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution and Legal Metrology, Choudhary Zulfkar Ali during an interactive -cum- awareness programme on National Food Security Act (NFSA)and Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Food Entitlement Scheme (MSFES) organized by CA&PD department at Government Higher Secondary School, Tikri here today.Highlighting the various features of National Food Security Act, the Minister said that the implementation of NFSA shall result into supply of highly subsidized ration to the citizens of the state at their doorsteps in a transparent manner. He also briefed the people about the newly launched Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Food Entitlement Scheme and said that the scheme supplements NFSA under which additional quota of ration would be provided to the consumers at subsidized rates.
The minister said that the government is fully committed for the protection and promotion of economic and social well being of the citizens and requisite steps are being taken to ensure hassle free supply of quality ration to the people . He informed that 204 new Fair Price shops are proposed to be opened in the district Udhampur while 101 new shops are proposed for Reasi district which would further augment the ration supply to the consumers.While highlighting the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwal Yojna (PMUY), the Minister said that under this scheme LPG connections would be provided to women of BPL household. He directed the Deputy Commissioners of district Udhampur and Reasi to identify 1000 beneficiaries under this scheme within a period of one month so that the target to cover one lakh beneficiaries would be achieved in a year. He also directed the district administration to conduct regular meetings with representatives of Oil companies and organize awareness camps to generate awareness among the beneficiaries for effective implementation of PMUY.He said the dealers have a vital role in effective implementation and execution of welfare schemes launched by the government and asked the stakeholders associated with this sector to work with honesty to ensure transparency and accountability while dealing with consumers.
The minister also informed that the commission of fare price shop dealer has been increased to Rs 143 per quintal and the concerned Deputy Commissioners have been asked to revise the carriage rates.The Minister said that holding such interactive- cum- awareness camp is of immense importance as it helps in raising massive awareness among the masses about the welfare schemes of the CA&PD department.He also distributed new ration cards among the beneficiaries on the occasion.Highlighting the initiatives taken by the department to infuse transparency in the ration supply the Minister said that ration would be provided to the people on quarterly basis and GPS tracking of the vehicles carrying ration and installation of biometric system Point of Sale Machine (PoS) would also be taken up in all ration shops .Director CA&PD, also apprised the people about the various schemes of the department and urged them to avail full benefit out of the schemes.Later, the Minister convened a meeting with the officers of district Udhampur and Reasi and reviewed the implementation of NFSA ,Mufti Mohammed Sayeed Food entitlement scheme and the newly launched Prime Minister Ujjwal Yojana.
Mr Zulfkar directed the district administration to closely monitor the disbursement of food grains in the district and Assistant Director, CA&PD was asked to ensure the display of rate list of the commodities, name of the dealer and important telephone numbers at conspicuous places. The minister stressed upon the concerned officers to maintain transparency in the disbursement of the ration.He directed the concerned officers to ensure installation of Electronic Weighing Machines in all sale centres replacing traditional weighing practice adding that the department should make use of the technological advancements to provide better services to the consumers and to safeguard their interests .He also directed the DC Udhampur to constitute a committee to conduct an audit of allocation, lifting and distribution status of ration and submit the report within one month.MLA Udhampur Pawan Kumar Gupta, MLA Chenani Dina Nath Bhagat, MLA Ramnagar R.S.Pathania, DC Udhampur Niraj Kumar , Director CA&PD G.S Chib, SSP Udhampur Suleman Chowdhary , district officers of Udhampur and Reasi districts besides sarpanches and prominent citizens were present in the meeting .