Minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Choudhary Zulfkar Ali today held a video conference with all the District Development Commissioners (DDC) to review the progress of consumer database creation for effective implementation of NFSA. He also called for launching mass awareness campaigns in this regard. The Minister impressed upon all DDCs to expedite the process and complete the same within fixed timeframe. He directed the concerned to cover all the deserving beneficiaries under different categories through a comprehensive survey. “The DDCs should also come up with a comprehensive list of all the segregated families,” he said.The Minister said the publication of the draft list, calling of objections and summary procedure to be followed under inclusion criteria should be updated on CA&PD portal for the information of the general public.
“No deserving families should be left out especially those falling under priority category. Besides extra care should be taken to provide application forms to the consumers and proper verification of the details should be done before finalizing the list,” he asserted.The Minister was apprised that application forms for enrollment under NFSA have been distributed among the consumers with the process of submission of the forms duly completed in all respects has also been started simultaneously in all the districts.The Minister said the families not covered under priority and non-priority categories would be provided non-rationee cards for identification and other purposes.
Emphasizing the need to generate mass awareness regarding NFSA, the Minister asked DDCs to hold awareness campaigns to sensitize the consumers about the benefits of this ambitious initiative. “Success of any scheme lies in the efficiency with which it is implemented and benefits should reach the targeted beneficiaries“, the Minister stressed.The Minister appreciated the efforts of DDCs and concerned officers for providing requisite logistic support to CA&PD department to create database of 1.25 crore souls which would serve as a vital data for seeking allocation under NFSA and other social security schemes.Secretary CA&PD Sourabh Bhagat, Director CA&PD G.S Chib, all DDCs besides senior officers of the department participated in the video conference.