Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Cabinet on Wednesday approved an amendment to the Odisha Public Distribution System (Control) Order, 2016, extending the deadline for replacing private fair price shop (FPS) dealers with institutional dealers till September 30, 2026.
The amendment revises Clause 4(6) of the Control Order, as the earlier deadline of March 31, 2026, was found difficult to implement due to administrative constraints and the risk of disruption in the public distribution system.
The National Food Security Act, 2013 has been implemented in Odisha since November 2015, while the Odisha Public Distribution System (Control) Order came into force in March 2016 to streamline the management of the state’s public distribution system.
Odisha currently has 12,349 fair price shops. Of these, 5,472 are operated by private dealers, 4,056 by gram panchayats, 2,348 by women self-help groups, 179 by self-help groups, 275 by cooperative societies and 19 by other organisations.
The extension is intended to facilitate a phased transition from private dealers to institutional agencies without affecting the distribution of essential food grains to beneficiaries.
