Fingerprint machine at NFSA outlets soon
Bhubaneswar: In a bid to maintain transparency and ensure quick payment of dues, the State Government on Thursday decided to link Aadhaar cards of farmers to the cooperative banks and the peasants’ accounts for online transfer of cost of paddy to be procured from the coming kharif season. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting held under chairmanship of Chief Secretary AP Padhi at the State Secretariat here. Both farmers and sharecroppers would link their Aadhaar cards for online payment of paddy cost. Anout 68 per cent of farmers have now Aadhaar cards and the rest would be given cards by October, said sources. The Government also extended the date for online registration of farmers for paddy procurement till August 30, informed Food Supplies Secretary Pradipta Mohapatra. Besides, the Aadhaar card was made mandatory for availing subsidised items under National Food Security Act (NFSA) and works under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). A pointer sale machine would be used for taking finger prints of NFSA beneficiaries at the Government retail outlets to maintain more transparency, said Mohapatra.
