Photo submission delays issuance of smart PDS cards

Submission of photo of the family head is a must for issue of smart cards. Of the 1.97 crore ration cards, which benefit 6.71 crore consumers in Tamil Nadu, 6.20 crore have submitted their Aadhaar card details while another 1.89 crore consumers have registered their mobile numbers which will allow them to get all commodity related details on their smart phones. 

Officials said, “We can only request consumers to submit their photos and though they promise to, compliance is not full and immediate,” they lamented.

It may be recalled that some months ago, some fair price shops (FPS) in Chennai did opt for such a measure on their own telling consumers bluntly that they would not get their monthly quota of rations till they submitted the mandatory photo and Aadhaar details. When the news reached higher officials, the errant sales persons were pulled up and government announced that ration would be given to all through the old ration cards. 

Meanwhile, the civil supplies department has suspended the salesman of Dharmapuri FPS who allowed a smart card with a photo of Lord Ganesh while similar action is contemplated against two FPS salesmen in Salem district for a similar issue. Officials said the problem arose as consumers uploaded photos through the smart card app or through the TNPDS app. As District and taluk supply officers (DSO/TSO) cannot check cards in bulk, this became the work of FPS salesmen who receive around 50 new cards a day.