Now, doorstep ration delivery for 80+ people

Patna: The state govt is considering doorstep delivery of PDS ration for beneficiaries aged above 80 years with food and consumer protection minister Ashok Choudhary on Tuesday directing officials to examine the feasibility of the proposal.Chairing a review meeting on departmental schemes, procurement operations, the public distribution system (PDS) and consumer protection initiatives, Ashok asked officials to prepare a proposal for launching a pilot project for home delivery of foodgrains to octogenarians.He said the govt would consider statewide implementation based on the outcome of the pilot project.Ashok also instructed officials to complete issuance of new ration cards within the stipulated timeline and ensure complete transparency in the process. He directed the department to fill vacancies in fair price shops under the PDS within a fixed timeframe.The minister asked the Bihar State Food and Civil Supplies Corporation to ensure timely supply of quality foodgrains to beneficiaries in the prescribed quantity and warned of strict action against negligent transporters.“Timely distribution of foodgrains to beneficiaries is the department’s top priority and negligence in this regard will not be tolerated,” Ashok said.He also asked officials to explore construction of warehouses under the public-private partnership (PPP) model to strengthen foodgrain storage capacity in the state.Senior officials, including secretary Abhay Kumar Singh, special secretary Upendra Kumar and Bihar State Food and Civil Supplies Corporation managing director Sunil Kumar, attended the meeting and reviewed the status of ongoing departmental programmes and initiatives.