Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Department will undertake a month-long campaign from September 17 to October 17 to facilitate access to food security services and address grievances of beneficiaries under the state’s Public Distribution System (PDS).
The programme, being organised as part of the ‘Seva Sankalp Abhiyan’, was finalised at a meeting chaired by Principal Secretary Sanjay Kumar Singh. Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation Managing Director K. Sudarshan Chakravarty and senior officials of the department attended the meeting.
As part of the campaign, awareness drives will be held from September 20 to 27 on PDS distribution procedures, entitlement of foodgrains, grievance redressal mechanisms and services available at fair-price shops.
Between September 26 and 30, Seva Setu programmes will be organised to expedite disposal of pending issues concerning Aadhaar and mobile-number linkage with ration cards, e-KYC and related matters. Ration card and PDS service camps will subsequently be held from September 28 to October 3 to resolve ration card-related problems and facilitate addition or modification of family members’ names.
The department will inspect foodgrain stocks, prices and distribution records at fair-price shops from October 4 to 8. e-PoS records will also be cross-checked with actual distribution, with action to be initiated against any irregularities found.
Grievance redressal and assistance camps will be conducted from October 9 to 12 to address complaints relating to non-receipt of ration, short weighing and other PDS irregularities, besides providing updates on pending complaints.
From October 13 to 15, eligible families and beneficiaries left out of the PDS will be identified and, following verification, steps will be taken to extend their entitled services.
The final two days, October 16 and 17, will be devoted to reviewing the services delivered during the campaign based on district-level reports and taking follow-up action wherever necessary.
The campaign will be implemented jointly by the Food Supplies Department, District Supplies and Monitoring Officers, district administrations, autonomous governance institutions and block administrations.
