TNN | Feb 16, 2016, 09.39 AM IST
Nashik: At 41%, the district is lagging way behind the state average of above 56% for Aadhaar seeding of beneficiaries of the public distribution system (PDS).
So far, only 15.53 lakh, or 41% of the PDS beneficiaries in Nashik have been linked to Aadhaar.
The central government has made it compulsory for supply offices across the country to complete at least 75% of Aadhaar seeding by February-end so that the subsidy can be directly linked to the account of the beneficiary.
"At present, of the 37.64 lakh people in the district, we have 15.53 lakh, or 41% of the beneficiaries whose Aadhaar details have been uploaded in the given format. the figure being way less than the state average, we have decided to deploy more number of people for the job of data entry in the system," said Sarita Narke, deputy collector and district supply officer of Nashik, who assumed office last week.
The unearthing of the Rs 7.17-crore foodgrain scam in Surgana taluka of the district in January last year saw suspension of 17 employees and senior officials, including the then district supply officer, Dnyaneshwar Jawanjal, by the state government, following which, there was no officer in-charge of the department till Narke was appointed.
Aadhaar seeding, along with many other works, like weeding out fake beneficiaries, has taken a backseat.
"First things first, we have decided to take up the issue of Aadhaar seeding as the deadline is fast approaching and the department is way behind. The administration has decided to deploy more than 300 data entry operators as against 129 operators doing the job now," Narke said.
The daily average of data entries has reached 17,000 from 8,000 in two weeks' time and it needs to be further increased if the administration has to achieve the goal
The office has to link at least 28.5 lakh PDS beneficiaries with Aadhaar before February 26 - which means the 13 lakh beneficiaries have to be linked in the available time.
Aadhaar seeding is being carried out to weed out illegal beneficiaries from the system. "Aadhaar numbers of family members mentioned on ration cards will be updated in the system so that duplicity can be tracked and eliminated. This will lead to clearing of double entries in records, which will further lead to cut in the food supplied to people through fair price shops (FPS)," another senior official from the department said.
Besides fool proofing the system, the data, once prepared, will be put online once. The office is now seeking help of the fair price shopkeepers to ensure that the linkages are completed within the stipulated time.