Jamshedpur, Jan. 8: State food and civil supplies minister Saryu Rai on Friday believed that there is corruption in his department.
To end corruption there is a need for improvement in the system and initiative for change has started. Addressing a press conference at Circuit House on Friday, Rai said, we have received several complaints about perturbation in making of ration cards and we have called a review meeting on January 12 to address the grievances.
At the meeting officers of the concerned department have been ordered to attend. Jamshedpur West MLA further said Public distribution system (PDS) outlets will be linked to biometric system by the end of this fiscal (March). He went on to inform that the tender process for installation of biometric system has already begun by the state government and would be finalised before the end of this month.
�We will have to install biometric systems at shops across 24 districts. If all things go as per plans we will launch it throughout state before the end of this fiscal in March-April,� said Saryu Rai. He went on to inform that the technology would soon be implemented to keep complete track of the movement of the food grain sacks in the PDS.
�It is very effective and efficient in keeping count of each and every sack of food grain that is on the move and this instrument will be pressed into service in the PDS soon,� said Rai.
�Apart from acting as a check on irregularities, the biometric system is also designed to ensure recording of transactions in fair price shops in real-time and make them readily available for monitoring against hoarding,� the minister said.
The minister also informed that that last date for purchase of ration card forms has been extended till January 31 from earlier December 31, 2015.
�Till date 51 lakh ration cards have been made and these people are getting ration also. A few days back I visited Telangana where PDS system is running efficiently�, added Minsiter.
�Moreover to avoid harassment beneficiaries should purchase ration cards only from district collectorate or from block development officer (BDO) or panchayat bhawan and not from any PDS dealer. People are free to lodge complaint with the department against such PDS dealers,� the minister said.
Talking about the local issues, Saryu Rai said, Mango Notified Area Committee (MNAC) will be turned into Mango Municipality and talks regarding the same have been finalized with the concerned department and till year end Mango will be made Municipality.
Replying to query about, legal rights (Malikana) of bustis, Rai said, if chief minister Raghubar Das takes any decision then all the bustis would be benifited and not only the Jamshedpur East bustis.
