IEP Chandigarh, August 5
Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal said that under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, about 32 lakh families in the state are getting the benefits of the PDS scheme. “To simplify the Public Distribution System, our government has made effective changes in the system. Now all the work is being done online in a transparent manner, due to which the beneficiaries, as well as the depot holders, do not have to face any problem to get the ration,” said Sh. Manohar Lal while interacting with the ration depot holders through audio conferencing here today. During the interaction, the depot holders thanked the Chief Minister for simplifying the Public Distribution System. Depot holders said that earlier people used to come to us, again and again, asking the dates of arrival of ration. The Haryana government has linked the information regarding the ration with the consumers’ mobile numbers, which has brought great relief to the consumers as well as to the depot holders. The government has reduced our problems by making the entire process online, said the depot holders. The Chief Minister said that many times a family had to face the problem as someone else used to avail of the ration facility on their behalf or they have only got half of the ration meant for them. To solve this problem, the government has started the EPDS portal. Under this, automatic POS machines have been installed at 9,434 fair-price shops. The ration is being made available to consumers through machines. Due to this, 100 percent distribution of essential commodities is being done after authentication on a biometric basis. Now no ineligible person can get ration by adopting any fraudulent means, informed Sh. Manohar Lal. The Chief Minister said that the government had linked the information of ration with the mobile of the consumers. Now, as soon as the supply reaches the ration shop, the consumers automatically get information about the arrival of the ration through mobile messages. The Chief Minister said that earlier in the old ration cards system; there was no information about any change in the number of family members. There were also doubts related to eligibility. Lack of transparency led to misunderstandings and due to this; there were numerous complaints from consumers. To solve all these problems, we have compiled the data of all the eligible families by taking the help of e-governance and have made all the processes online. Now, with the help of the depot holders, the work of distribution of ration has been made completely transparent and simple,” said Sh. Manohar Lal. The Chief Minister said that while reiterating the state government’s commitment towards women empowerment, the Government has taken a significant step by reserving 33 percent of the ration depots for women. Also, on applying the women applicants would be given allotment priority. He said that it would not be wrong to call the depot holders the charioteers of the Antyodaya Abhiyan launched by the Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi. Because of depot holders, the work to distribute ration to satisfy the hunger of the poorest person is being done in a smooth and hassle-free manner. Not only this, your role becomes even more important during natural calamities. The commendable services rendered by you during the COVID-19 pandemic is an example of this, said the Chief Minister. During the COVID-19 pandemic time, the Prime Minister had taken a pledge that no person in the country sleeps hungry. To fulfill this resolution, he had started the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana and the onus was on you to implement this scheme. I feel proud to say that you have left no stone unturned to make this plan a success, said Sh. Manohar Lal. Similarly, the One Nation – One Ration Card Scheme has been launched by Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi to facilitate every ration card holder of the country to get ration anywhere in the country. Earlier, due to employment or any other reason, the poor families living far away from their original residence could not get ration. Now any citizen of the country can get his quota from any