‘Replicate doorstep delivery of PDS items across nation’

New Delhi: Delhi Food Minister Imran Hussain has suggested the Centre to consider implementation of doorstep delivery of ration across the country citing various “irregularities and shortcomings” in the electronic point of scale (ePoS) system.

In a letter to Union Minister of Consumer Affairs Ram Vilas Paswan on Monday, Hussain also complained against food commissioner of Delhi and sought his transfer. 

He said a trial run of the ePoS system during January-March 2018 had exposed several “serious irregularities and shortcomings” such as ration on fake cards, biometric authentication failure and multiple OTPs generated for fraudulent pilferage of ration. 

“May I, therefore, request you to consider implementing the ePoS-enabled door step delivery of ration throughout India,” Hussain wrote to Paswan. 

He said technology-led reforms are the way forward, but not rectifying the “loopholes” that have been noticed in the course of implementation of the ePoS system will defeat the efforts at checking pilferage in the public distribution system. 

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi is pushing for implementation of door step delivery of ration in the national capital citing the “shortcomings” in the ePoS system. 

Seeking transfer of the food commissioner, Hussain alleged that the Delhi government had suspended ePoS through its order on February 20, 2018, in view of “deficiencies in it, but the officer did not stop ration distribution through it”. 

He also claimed that the door step delivery of ration approved by the Delhi government was also not implemented by the official. 

“The Cabinet had decided to implement the door step delivery of ration system. However, despite the Cabinet’s decision and a number of directions, the Commissioner, Food and Civil Supplies Department, has deliberately not taken any step to implement it,” Hussain complained. 

He also asked the Union Minister to take up with Delhi's Lt Governor and launch an expeditious probe into the cases of corrupt practices in the public distribution system.