Rehan Qayoom Mir
Srinagar, Sep 17: Minister for Food Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Satish Sharma on Wednesday said that ‘paperless VCP ration cards’ will be introduced from October 1 to make the ration distribution system more secure and convenient for the public.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Transport Bhawan at Bemina in Srinagar by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Sharma said the Transport Bhawan project, which was initiated 10 years ago during the tenure of then Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, has now been inaugurated by the present CM. “It is indeed a proud moment,” he said.
Talking about the upcoming VCP cards, Sharma said they have launched the VCP cards and will make them completely paperless from October 1 onwards. “We will try to provide them to every single person as sometimes ration cards get damaged in floods or are lost. These new digital cards will store all the data securely and make it easy for people to access their entitlements,” the Minister said.
Responding to a query about the functioning of the transport department, Sharma acknowledged that there were shortcomings but assured that efforts were underway to address them.
“Yes, there are flaws in the department, but we are trying to address them. Unfortunately, in the past few months we have seen a war-like situation, floods, the Pahalgam incident and the overall situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Our focus during that time was on rescue and providing relief,” he said, adding that now, with this new facility, people will be able to access all transport-related services, like licenses, transport office work and other matters, under one roof.
He further said that the department had also taken up various concerns with the Centre. “Last month, a minister from Delhi visited and we met them. We raised all the issues, including ration cards and other related concerns, with them,” Sharma added.
