THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a bid to bring in more transparency in the state’s Public Distribution System (PDS), the Civil Supplies Department will integrate the EPoS machine with electronic weighing balances at ration shops.An experimental implementation in five shops under the City Rationing Office, Thiruvananthapuram, was found successful.
In his report to the department, the City Rationing Officer said the new system was functioning smoothly. Under it, the EPoS machine will generate a bill only if the corresponding weight is placed on the weighing balance. This narrows down the scope for the dealer to conduct fraud in quantity.
The government had earmarked `9.3 crore in the 2018-19 plan for the integration project. The CS Department has submitted a draft RFP for the procurement of machines to the government. “Once the technical committee and the government give sanction to the RFP, tenders will be floated. The whole process will be completed in a couple of months,” officers said.
Currently, all the 14,300 PDS shops in the state have biometric electronic point of sale machines. The EPoS and other provisions in the NFSA have helped in avoiding fraudulent practices by dealers. The CS Department has embarked on a makeover drive for the PDS shops. Under this, all shops are given a unique colour code and better display facilities.
As much as `2,500 was given to each shop for the modification works.The drive is the first step of an ambitious project to turn the ration shops more people-friendly by selling products at subsidised rates. The diversification project will be implemented in association with Supplyco.