In a bid to ensure smooth implementation of the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 across Odisha, the State Government is all set to roll out a process of digitising ration cards from next month.
In the first phase, the process would be initiated in the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Bhubaneswar block areas. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, official sources said, would unveil the process of digitisation towards the last week of September.
Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Food Supplies & Consumer Welfare, Madhu Sudan Padhi, has taken steps for digitisation of ration cards and identification of beneficiaries of priority households as per the mandate of the NFSA. And the State Government has already initiated the process in BMC and Bhubaneswar block areas. However, it would be formally launched most possibly on September 22.
In the second phase, all urban local bodies (UlBs), the remaining parts of Khordha district and district headquarters would be covered. Besides, all blocks would be included in the third phase, the sources said.
Mastek has been appointed as the vendor for the first phase. Meanwhile, as many as 163 application receiving centres have been opened in the BMC and Bhubaneswar block areas to receive applications from priority households.
Anganwadi workers are being engaged to collect applications from eligible households for the purpose. Software major IBM has prepared a module for detecting lacunae in the applications having similar names. Basing on exclusion criteria finalised by the State Government, Anganwadi workers have been told to collect applications from the eligible priority households only.
Meanwhile, the Government has finalised eight exclusion criteria which cover monthly income, income tax payees, persons having four-wheelers or two or three-wheelers, business with TIN (tax payer identification number), electricity consumption above 300 units per month, State or Central Government employee, persons having power tillers, fishing boats or other heavy vehicles, persons having entrepreneurship and professional tax payees. These exclusion criteria are based on the socioeconomic status schedule prepared by the Panchayati Raj Department and are set to delete all bogus ration card holders, all APls and BPls due to erroneous registrations.
Besides, the applications received from priority households would be matched with the National Population Register (NPR) database based on the Census reports of 2011.
After a lapse of about a year, the Registrar General of India (RGI) has finally shared the NPR database with the State Government. The database containing information on person’s name, address and all the details would be used in verification and authentication of priority households.
The vendor after receiving applications from eligible households would undergo a verification process before taking up digitisation of ration cards.
Notably, the ration card has been decided to be issued in the name of woman member as the head of priority household.
However, the distribution of ration cards would be carried out by another vendor. The process of selection of vendor is yet to begin, but the Food Supplies Department has prepared Request for Quotation (RfQ) for the purpose. The process of digitisation of ration cards and identification of beneficiaries would be completed by January 2015, and the State would be able to implement the NFSA afterwards.