With a view to use the social media to monitor the functioning of ration shops, the Food and Supply Department of Delhi Government has logged onto Facebook. The online platform, officials said, is aimed at making registration of complaints against Fair Price Shop (FPS) owners easier and transparent. Officials said city residents can now post complaints, with proofs like pictures of any anomaly identified at the ration shops, on the Facebook page of the department having a cover picture with the slogan Aapka Rashan Aapka Haq (your ration, your entitlement).
“One of the biggest complaints against the ration shops is that they are closed. People can now post pictures if a particular FPS is closed during business hours. Other anomalies like lack of a proper display board, any issue related to cleanliness could also be posted on the profile. Action would be taken accordingly,” said a senior Delhi Government official.
Lakhs of families are currently covered under the Public Distribution System through the 2600 FPS in the city. The number of families under PDS has increased gradually with the number of beneficiaries having multiplied manifold following implementation of the Food Security Scheme. Around 72 lakh people would be covered under the scheme.
With smart phones and internet connectivity penetrating even into jhuggi clusters, officials are hopeful of a good response from ration card holders.
