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Madhya Pradesh considers e-Ration cards
Heading for the ration shop? Don’t forget your e-card.
BY OUR CORRESPONDENT
October 16 2006
Look who’s logging on to the e-biz. If technology has proved to be more efficient than humans, then we would also try that out. This seems to be the motto of the Madhya Pradesh government too.
The top brass in the MP government is mulling over the possibilities of putting an end to the rampant black marketing of essential commodities in the state. In a bid to check malpractices, the state government is planning e-ration cards to streamline the public distribution system.
According to reports quoting senior officials in government, a computer-based automated ration card and public distribution management system would be set up under a pilot project which would connect the shopkeeper, the warehouse and the consumer through computers. This expected to go on stream soon.
With this in mind the Chief Minister of Madhya Paradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, has already held parleys with officials of the Electronic Corporation of India . His senior cabinet colleagues also had held discussion with the ECI team.
The e-ration card system, when implemented, would help monitoring of fair price shops from one place. By doing this, the state would e ale to check black marketing of commodities, it s believed.
As an initial effort, as many as 10 million e-ration cards would be prepared at an estimated cost of Rs 800 million. Under this, a total of 23,000 fair price shops would be connected, reports from Bhopal said.
The e-ration card system would work in such a way that beneficiaries would be provided with a card, to be produced before the fair price shop owner, to get any listed commodity. Holes would be punched on the card to make an entry and thus a record of the cardholder would be maintained electronically.
According to ECI sources, the corporation would implement the e-ration card project for a period of five years. After the five year period, the system would be handed over to the department concerned which is to implement the job.
With the technology revolution now set to enter ration shops too, it is believed that Madhya Pradesh would be able to wipe out black marketing of commodities in one go.
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