15 states yet to install finger scanners at ration shops to plug grain leakage

NEW DELHI: At least 15 states including Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Assam, Bihar, Goa and West Bengal have made no progress in in stalling electronic point-of sale machines (e-PoS) at fair price shops to plug leakage of subsidised food grains.

While food minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Wednesday highlighted how two non-NDA ruled states - Bihar and UP - have been lagging behind, records show many of the NDA governed states too have failed to adopt the measure.

In Punjab, Goa and Assam, not a single e-PoS device has been installed, while in Maharashtra and Haryana, not even 1% of the fair price shops have got these devices, which identify beneficiaries from finger impressions. "It's not an issue of NDA or non-NDA states. Every state must implement this reform to stop diversion of subsidised food grains. I will write to all the states " Paswan said. In Delhi, only 38 shops out of 2,534 have got the machines.

The devices have been installed in all fare price shops in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Daman and Diu. Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Chandigarh and Puducherry have done away with fair price shops as direct benefit transfer has been implemented there. In Gujarat and Chhattisgarh, over 90% of the shops have got this device.

There are total 5.30 lakh fair price shops across the country and so far 1.24 lakh of them have got e-PoS machines. The government has set the target to complete 100% coverage by March 2019.