Hyderabad: Ration portability will come into force across the state from April 1. With this, beneficiaries can buy their ration from any of the shops located anywhere in the state.
The initiative was introduced in GHMC limits and in districts on a pilot basis. It is now extended to the entire state. The move is expected to benefit 2.75 crore PDS beneficiaries.
According to civil supplies commissioner C.V. Anand, the portability sch-eme is already implemented district-wise which yielded a good response from beneficiaries and it will now be implemented statewide from April 1.
He said the portability created competition betw-een the ration dealers and helped beneficiaries in getting good services.
Following the portability, the ration cardholder need not go to his allotted ration shop and can buy his ration from anywhere in the state.
Previously, the beneficiaries were required to buy their commodities only in the ration shop allotted to them. The families migrating to other places or shifting from one place to another within the same city or towns were unable to get ration from the nearest ration shop, but had to get ration commodities from the allotted shop even if it is far away.
In the new portability scheme, there is no limitation to get the commodities in a particular ration shop. The beneficiaries can get their essential commodities near to their house or any place irrespe-ctive of ration shop where their card is allotted.
Apart from this, family members included in the ration card can get ration individually from anywhere in the state. For example, out of five members of a family, one can get his quota of rice or kerosene or wheat from Mahabubnagar district, two members can get rice from Medak or kerosene from Adilabad.
An SMS message will be sent to the registered mobile number about the quota as soon as the ration is taken. Mr Anand said ration cards will not be terminated even if cardholders do not take their ration.
He said by downloading T-Ration App one can get the location of the ration shop nearer to them by one click. Every card holder should get the benefits of this App.
The ration portability was implemented in 1,545 ration shops in GHMC limit on June 1, 2017. In ten months, about 29 lakh transactions were made by portability.
The ration portability has developed healthy competition among the dealers, which resulted in a good behaviour by the dealer and reduced complaints from the cardholders.
There are 85 lakh ration cards in the state and they get their ration from 17.000 ration shops. They are all linked to Aadhaar-based biometric system which helps the cardholder to get his ration from anywhere in the state. For this, 10 to 15 per cent extra stock is supplied to every ration shop in advance.
