TNN | Updated: Feb 21, 2018, 01:11 IST
NEW DELHI: Claiming that due to technical reasons 2.5 lakh families had been unable to avail of PDS ration since January, Delhi’s MLAs had wanted to discuss the issue with chief secretary Anshu Prakash. However, their meeting turned into a farce on Monday night after the latter alleged he was manhandled by the MLAs.
On Tuesday, the Delhi cabinet decided to do away with the need to proffer Aadhaar cards to avail subsidised ration and deputy CM Manish Sisodia made the announcement.
However, top officials of food and supplies department have rebutted the claim of the government saying they are clueless about the source of the figure of 2.5 lakh families being quoted by AAP functionaries.
Sources said since the transition to e-PoS (Point of Sale) devices from January 1, the department had given clear instructions to all fair price shops to give rations to even those without Aadhaar cards or in cases where biometric authentication fails. Also, portability, which allows people to take ration from any shop, has helped overcome the troubles faced by families.
Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said the e-POS system encountered problems because department officials implemented the change differently from what was approved of by the cabinet and hadn’t “kept the government in the loop”.
According to the decision of the cabinet, which met at the resident of the CM on Tuesday rather than at Delhi Secretariat because of disturbances there, the old system of using ration cards has been restored.
The government had decided on POS machines at fair price shops to prevent diversion of supplies. The Aadhaar-based devices were set up at over 2,000 fair price shops to ensure no illegal sales took place. “The officers implemented the decision differently due to which neither did the pilfering stop, nor did the beneficiaries get their rightful benefits,” Sisodia said at a briefing.
The government thinks doorstep delivery of the ration service will make the fair price shops redundant and has asked the chief secretary to submit a cabinet note on the proposal within a week to enable the government to go ahead with its implementation. “Withdrawal of Aadhaar is a short-term arrangement because the government aims to start delivering the ration at the doorstep within two and a half months,” Sisodia said.
Failure to authenticate fingerprints, faulty point-of-sale machines and network issues have caused untold problems for the beneficiaries at the fair price shops.