Aadhaar OTP system started to distribute food grains in fair price shops

Shimla, May 15 – A meeting under the chairmanship of Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Rajinder Garg was held here wherein arrangements for distribution of ration in fair price shops were widely discussed.

In the meeting, Rajinder Garg directed the departmental officers to provide IRIS facility in all the fair price shops functional in the State for which the Expression of Interest had already been issued in which six parties had participated.

He also reviewed the process of food grains being distributed through the biometric system. The food grains were being distributed in all fair price shops by properly following the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued by the Health Department. He said that 75.80 per cent food grains had been distributed this month through the biometric system. The Committees have been constituted under the chairmanship of all the District Controllers to ensure adherence to all SOPs. He said that the inspectors were inspecting the fair price shops regularly and action was being taken against whoever was not following the guidelines.

The Minister also directed that the Aadhaar OTP system for the distribution of food grains should also be implemented immediately so that the consumer can get the food grains through this system without coming into contact with the biometric machine. For this, the process has been started by the department and today all the fair price shops in the State had distributed food grains through Aadhaar OTP on a trial basis. He said that 240 subscribers received food grains through this process today. He said that the consumer can access the fair price shops through biometric as well as Aadhaar OTP system. He said that in both the systems all the Fair Price Shops must strictly adhere to the SOPs so that there is no risk to get infection at the time of money transaction or delivery of food grains.

He also directed that the cashless facility should also be implemented immediately so that there was no possibility of getting infection at the time of distribution of food grains. He said that consumers need not to be afraid to get food grains through Biometric and Aadhaar OTP facility until the cashless and IRIS facilities were not made available in POS machines.

Director Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Ramkumar Gautam, Director and other departmental officers were also present in the meeting.