Minister for Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali called on Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection, Chhattisgarh Government, Punnu Mohiley to know about the successful implementation of e-PDS in the state. He also visited various Fair Price Shops in Raipur to get firsthand knowledge of ground level implementation of the electronic system of public distribution.Zulfkar Ali held detailed deliberations with Punnu Mohiley and officers of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department of Chhattisgarh regarding successful implementation of ePDS. The Minister received on ground knowledge of the functioning of FPS in Chhattisgarh. He also interacted with consumers of the state and received feedback of the system.Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali is on a visit to Chhattisgarh to get an idea of reforms in the PDS there.Pertinent to mention that the Chhattisgarh government has employed many technological innovations under PDS and it is the first state which has implemented NFSA. It began with computerization of Fair Prices Shops (FPS), doorstep delivery wherein GPS-enabled transport vehicles helped further streamlining the system through constant tracking.
During the interaction, Chhattisgarh Food Minister said that a Mobile based applications including SMS alert has been started in the state which has improved the access to information about food grains at all levels. He added that these innovations were supported by centralized monitoring and grievance redressal mechanism. He was apprised that a total of 12500 FPS are fully automated in the state besides 94 percent Ration cards are Aadhar linked.Chhattisgarh Food Minister briefed Chowdhary Zulfkar that his department is providing pulse, gram, sugar and iodized salt besides other foodgrains to beneficiaries to ensure not only food security but also nutrition security in the State.The Minister was also given brief presentation highlighting mechanism of truck dispatches and monitoring through SMS, monthly submission of FPS sales details, Unified Ration Card database, Call Centres and Complaint Monitoring Centres. Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali on the occasion reiterated the commitment of J&K Government to bring transparent system in PDS in the state and is studying working models of other states which have already implemented ePDS successfully. He added that Chief Minister of J&K, Mehbooba Mufti is keen to bring accountability and transparency in all the Departments and his department is making all efforts in achieving this. He further said that his department is in the process of implementing ePDS cent percent.