BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government on Wednesday directed all civil supplies officials to ensure 100 per cent e-KYC verification of ration cardholders under the food security programme, with verification already fully achieved in 144 fair price shops across the state.
Addressing a state-level conference of chief civil supplies officers, civil supplies officers and additional civil supplies officers, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare minister Krushna Chandra Patra said the average e-KYC verification of all districts is 96 per cent and the process should be expeditiously completed for the remaining four per cent beneficiaries.
Official sources said biometric authentication failures in case of under-5 children, elderly people and manual labourers is one factor while migrant workers staying outside their home districts or states are not available for physical verification at fair price shops.
The minister, however, praised supplies officials for ensuring uninterrupted availability of essential commodities and taking strict action against black marketing. Referring to the recent crackdown on illegal LPG trade, he said officials seized nearly 8,000 gas cylinders across different districts. Action was also taken against petrol and diesel black marketing.
Patra said supplies officers have played a key role in timely paddy procurement, beneficiary inclusion under food security schemes and consumer protection initiatives. He called for strengthening consumer forums at district and block levels and sought cooperation from officials for effective implementation of the proposed Chief Minister Annapurna Yojana.
Principal secretary Sanjay Singh stressed the need for transparency and faster public service delivery, and urged officials to continue efforts to achieve complete e-KYC coverage in all remaining 11,599 fair price shops.
Singh highlighted the state’s paddy procurement efforts during the last kharif season. Around 78 lakh metric tonne of paddy was procured from nearly 19 lakh farmers, while about Rs 24,000 crore was disbursed towards minimum support price and input assistance within 48 hours which he said is a record among all states.
During the conference, several districts were felicitated for outstanding performance in paddy procurement, e-KYC verification and technology-based mandi management. Bargarh, Kalahandi and Ganjam were recognised for paddy procurement, while Sundargarh, Deogarh and Mayurbhanj were felicitated for achievements in e-KYC implementation. Jharsuguda, Bhadrak and Sundargarh received recognition for GPS-based vehicle tracking and Subarnapur, Jajpur and Mayurbhanj for efficient mandi management through digital applications.