Officials of the COVID-19 Essential Commodities Control Room have come up with a novel idea of issuing an ‘e-Pass App’ to the private employees who are working in the essential commodities’ manufacture, sale and supply in the State.
Passes are being issued to 20% of the staff members in an organisation after thorough verification of their applications.
“The App, a first of its kind in the State, was launched on April 1. The is to ensure manufacture, sale and supply of essential commodities needed for the day-to-day life during the lockdown period,” says control room special officer Himanshu Shukla.
The integrated control room, comprising officers from 11 departments such as Civil Supplies, Transport, Revenue, Labour, Medical and Health, and Police, has so far issued 3,000 passes.
“Employees involved in the essential services and transportation sectors are being given the passes to ensure hassle-free operations during the ongoing crisis,” the official says.
“In all, 23 essential services have been identified across the State. The essential commodities and services are defined in GO 289, and are divided into two categories – organisations involved in manufacturing, and supply and sale of essential commodities and services. Passes are being issued for the private sector employees working in factories, establishments and industries and companies, and its offices engaged in the production or supply of essential goods,” Mr. Shukla, who is the brain behind the system, explains.
Online process
The entire process is online and the individual need not visit any office. The application can be filled by clicking the following link available on the Spandana portarl – https://gramawardsachivalayam.ap.gov.in/CVPASSAPP/CV/CVOrganizationRegistration .
The owner, or head of the organisation should apply for the pass on behalf of the employees by providing the mobile phone number of the employee, Aaadhar number, GST number and photograph.
The Joint Collector, who is the chairman of the District Control Centre, is the final authority to either approve or reject the application.
“The average time for issuing the pass is six hours. We have a target to issue passes within four hours of applying for the same. The pass will be issued with a QR Code and particulars such as route, time, days and other details. The pass holder can show it to the officers at the check-posts on their mobile, or can display the print copy. The response to the system is overwhelming,” Mr. Shukla says.
There is a grievance redress mechanism for the applicants. They can contact the helpline 1902 for registering their grievances. Once the grievance is registered, it will be sent to the Joint Collector, who is the authorised officer, to verify, approve or reject it.
